Demasked
by Sacmis
Summary: Having lost everything, Alex is sent back to the SAS training camp. But even here, he can't escape old demons and even makes new ones. How far can a 14 year old be pushed? And what lengths will a unit go to for their 5th member?
1. Chapter 1

**Heyyy! I got a new fanfic idea! Well it isn't really new-I know there are loadsa alex goes back to Brecon Beacons fics out there but I've always wanted to do my own, with my own twist on things. I haven't planned this out entirely-I have a few ideas swimming about but I guess we'll see how it develops. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: yes alex rider does belong to me because I Anthony Horowitz am a 16 year old school girl from North West London…suuuuuure**

The rain beat down heavily on the jeeps' windows, as if demanding entry in to the vehicle to get to the stoic boy inside. The boy barely moved, his eyes staring blankly out the window-a perfect Madame Tussauds wax figure. The rain beat down harder, desperately wanting to reach the boy to splatter him in its refreshing, cooling moisture-to replenish him and give him life, the way it did with the plants and soil. The window however, remained defiantly shut.

Alex sat in quiet solitude. He didn't think he'd have to see the almost continuously wet landscape of Brecon Beacons ever again-at the very least not so soon. _But then_, he argued with himself, _where else would MI6 put me?_ After his return from Australia he'd had all of a month of bliss…no, that wasn't the right word. A semblance of normality perhaps?

School was hard. His subjects he could deal with-he had even managed to catch up in most of them as he would stay up all night doing homework, to evade the horrors that sleep brought him. No the real problem where his classmates and to a certain degree, the teachers as well. They didn't buy his sick excuses. His appearance, they reasoned, was far more similar to that of a druggie or gang member. _What would they know?_ He silently fumed to himself. Alex didn't know which hurt him more-those that taunted him or those that ignored him, acting as if he never existed. His school life was shattered. Tom was the only one who made his school life somewhat bearable.

Jack…she had done everything she could to make him as comfortable as possible. To let him have fun- with cinema trips, and outings to see the sights of the city that although home, was beginning to feel like a stranger to him. Even though he could feel the curiosity burning in her eyes, she didn't ask him about his mission and for that, he was thankful. How would he explain to her that the man she'd had a fling with years ago was a backstabbing murder-_**stop right there,**_he thought firmly.

What did it matter anyways? Jack was gone. Her body had shut down, due to her undiagnosed diabetes. A bitter laugh rumbled in his chest. It was ironic really. What with his parents and uncle getting killed by criminal organisations he'd feared for Jack losing her life in a similar way-not something so _**normal.**_Even though for once, he logically knew that he wasn't responsible he still felt guilt eat at him. _Maybe if she hadn't been so worried about me, she'd have noticed her condition earlier_, he reasoned. He felt a pang deep in his chest, one that had nothing to do with his bullet wound.

MI6 obviously jumped at the chance to own him completely now. If he said he was surprised, he would have been lying to himself. They took him out of school on the pretence of getting home tutored due to his illness. They would keep him in Brecon Beacons so that he was always ready for a mission. He would have a tutor who would teach him at the camp, so in a way the excuse for his school was only a half lie.

When he had been told that he would be sent to the SAS he'd felt relief-and that emotion alone scared him more than anything else. He didn't want to admit (even to himself), that though not at ease he preferred this life to his old one. At least here, he knew what to expect…and he didn't have to lie as much. At school he was constantly in deep cover for his spy life and then also in a way, he had a second mask over that, as he didn't truly feel like a normal teen. He had to act like one rather than just be it. At least here he would only have one mask rather than two.

Cold air rushed towards him as the MI6 agent who had been driving him to the camp, opened his door. Alex hadn't even noticed the car stop.

'Come on. You're meant to report to the Sergeants office.' Alex nodded distractedly, still wrapped in his own thoughts. _I should have said yes to the orphanage, right before my first mission, _he thought grimly. He stepped out of the car and immediately the rain captured him. It had him in its clutches and was desperately trying to bring life in to those forlorn eyes. But Alex Rider wasn't a plant. It would take so much more than rain to put a flicker of life in to those eyes.

**A:N// so what d'yu think? K Unit should be up in the next chapter. I just really felt I had to focus on describing the car journey for one simple reason: part of my English exam was this question about: describe a journey on a car, bus, plane (etc)…my mind went blank. I've never written so much crap in my life and I'm sure I failed. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's mind goes blank in exams but I doubt the examiner's going to be sympathetic. Needless to say I went hysterical after the exam. I just hope the other sections in my English exam pull up my overall grade.**

**Please review-it would mean a lot. As always, thanks for reading. DCC xxx**


	2. Deja Vu

Hellllllloooooo!!! Thanks to everyone that reviewed and for your words of encouragement about my exams. I figure: I won't get an A*-dissapointed, but it isn't the end of the world. If I don't get an A-I will cry hysterically but again-it isn't the end of the world. After all-look at John Steinbeck. He's a nobel prize winner and his average grade was a B. He didn't even finish a University course. So I ask mum (as a joke) if I can not go Uni. Needless to say she gave me a dead pan look and was like 'in your dreams.'

(semi-impotant for the fic!)The **Siberian tiger** (_Panthera tigris altaica_) is also known as the **Amur**, **Manchurian**, **Altaic**, **Korean**, **North China** or, **Ussuri tiger**.

Disclaimer: Alex Rider doesn't belong to me.

'Didn't think I'd see you here again Cub.' The Sergeant surveyed him calmly, noting the subtle yet striking changes in the boy in front of him; The stiff alert posture. The hard, dead look on his face. No, this boy had most definitely changed since his last visit here and despite himself, the sergeant felt a shiver run down his spine. Alex, who had grown accustomed to noticing miniscule detail, was distinctly aware of the fact that the Sergeant was studying him 'discretely.' Alex closed off his face thinking he'd be giving nothing away, not realizing that by doing so he was giving away so much more…the person this life had made him.

'When you first came here Cub I told you that I wanted to bin you. I. Still. Want. To bin. You.' He cut the sentence in to 5 smaller ones, to emphasize his extreme distaste. Alex felt a sense of déjà vu creep up on him, but he ignored it, just willing the Sergeant to hurry up. He just wanted to be by himself.

The Sergeant narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge how his words affected the boy. No change. _New tactic,_ he thought grimly.

'Due to your circumstances I can't bin you. MI6 sent a note to request you stay here indefinitely.' There! The sergeant thought he caught a flicker of some emotion in the boy's eyes-resignation perhaps? But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. _Carry on the same way then_, he thought.

'Due to your age I can make allowances for you, but they won't be as lax as they were the first time round. After all, you should have improved in those months. Do tell, how has SAS training helped you in practice?'

'It's taught me endurance Sir,' Alex replied only giving the bare minimum. The Sergeant gave a wry smile of defeat. Alex knew what he wanted. It was a trick question and he wasn't going to fall for it. _Why does everyone I meet seem to want to either engage with me in a physical or mental battle?_

'Very well Cub. Here is your timetable. You will be placed with K Unit again-no need to burden more of my men than I need to. Dismissed.' Alex immediately jumped to attention. Realizing what he had done, he left quickly cursing himself, noticing the surprised look the Sergeant shot him.

'Old habits die hard I guess,' he muttered to himself as he trudged off to K Units barracks in the pouring rain. It wasn't such a bad thing-it's not like it was out of place here. If anything, it was expected. _It's just…why can my body seem to remember that with more ease, than it slouching about like any other teen? _Deeply disturbed by his thoughts and afraid of the answers he would get, he pushed them aside. He had reached the barracks. He knocked twice hard, so as to be heard over the howling wind.

'Come in,' grunted a vaguely familiar voice but he couldn't place it as the sound was muffled by the door. He stepped inside, making sure to carefully close the door behind him before turning to face the group.

'Welcome Soldier. I'm this unit's leader, Wolf. That's Eagle and that's our medic Snake.'

'I know who you are,' Alex replied simply. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes and looked at them head on. One second of confused silence passed, before…

'SHIT!' Eagle exclaimed… they had realized who he was. 'Cub! What are you doing back here?'

'Training,' Alex replied shooting him a 'duh!' look. He put his rather heavy bag down and rolled his shoulder to ease it. Not knowing how long he would stay here, meant he had packed quite a bit. Besides he wanted _some _familiar things around him. Trinkets of his past life.

'You're our new member.' Wolf spoke the words quietly in an almost threatening manner. His fists balled at his sides.

'First we lose Fox to MI6 then we **lose** Amur-only to end up with a **child?**' he spat the words out and glared daggers at Alex, who didn't even flinch. Snake moved towards Wolf and put a calming hand on his shoulder.

'So how long are you staying this time?' Wolf sneered.

'Wolf,' Snake warned quietly.

'I'm not sure.' Alex answered. _But far more than just 10 days_, he added in his thoughts. He suddenly felt very weary. He was in no mood to try to work out why exactly Wolf was so hostile towards him. He had thought that after he'd kicked Wolf out of a plane and Wolf taking bullets for him at Point Blanc that they were alright…_Guess I thought wrong._

'You should get some sleep. We start at 5:30 tomorrow,' Snake said gently. 'I assume you're doing the same things we are?' Alex took out the folded timetable from his pocket.

'Yeah. Up till dinner I'm with you guys.' Alex groaned internally. Great. Just Great. He'd be spending a lot of 'quality time' with his unit. God he was knackered. He picked his bag up and walked over to the empty bunk next to the window, acutely aware of the eyes glued to his back. He got changed quickly with his back to them-effectively blocking their view of the traitorous scar over his chest but also the torn look of sadness and worry on his face. It was time to sleep. Though he was tired, he was reluctant to give in as it meant loss of control…his mind would relive all that he refused to acknowledge in his conscious state-and if one thing was certain, he did not want K Unit to be witness to that. He lay down with his back to them already knowing, that his mind would lose the battle against sleep. Voices resounded around him like musical notes. But he was too far gone to make out the melody. His last thought before he gave in completely was a prayer. _Lord, for the first time in a week, let me have a silent, dreamless night._

A/N: So what d'you think? I was wondering-would you prefer me to write short chapters like this one frequently or longer ones but less frequently?

I hope you liked it. It will get more eventful over the next few chapters! As always, thanks for reading and I'd love it if you write a review.

Ciao! DCC xxx


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I've updated again! Just shows how much I revise right? I will get some revision done tonight. I will…at least I'll try.

Disclaimer: If Alex Rider were mine I'd make myself (like so many other girls I know) Alex's love interest lol.

* * *

He was suffocating. His heart sped up uncontrollably as the panic rose. Grappling with consciousness he pushed himself up, his eyes snapping open, his breathing haggard and loud, cold sweat clinging to his skin. It took him a second to comprehend what had happened. He'd had another nightmare. Scenes from it flashed before his eyes and he desperately tried to suppress them. The last one had felt too real. Conrad had been strangling him again. He could still feel his hot breath on his face and the fingers round his neck-_'and having my face in my pillow really helped making suffocating feel less real,_' he thought sarcastically. His breathing had finally calmed again. He lay back down on the hard mattress.

'Wait…hard mattress?' Alex sat up again and squinted in to the darkness trying to make out the figures of K unit. He breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes adjusted, revealing sound asleep figures-one even snoring quite loudly. He turned his head in the direction of the noise. _Ah so Eagle's the perpetrator._ Alex mentally thanked the man. After all, if it weren't for his loud snoring K Unit may not have grown accustomed to sleeping in a loud environment and hence, may have heard his little outburst. _Then again, if you're somewhere out in Baghdad or somewhere, I doubt you'd have a quiet night either._

He glanced at his wrist watch- 4:26. 'Might as well have one long shower, 'cause there's no way I'm getting back to sleep,' he sighed.

Half an hour later, Alex stepped out of the showers, a towel wrapped tightly around his waist. The showers had fogged up and Alex was sure he'd used up all of the limited hot water. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to care about K unit's reaction, when they would come to stand under the freezing water.

'You're up early,' a groggy Scottish voice said from the door. Alex nearly jumped. Snake stepped towards him. 'See, I'm an early riser but I didn't figure to see anyone else up this early-especially not a teenager. '

'I don't do stereo types,' Alex replied wryly fully intending to walk past the man as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for him, the open door had lifted the fog and Snake was now standing only a meter away from him, leaving him completely exposed.

'Your chest,' the man whispered shocked. Alex felt unbelievably bare and vulnerable. He cursed himself-this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. Had he been on a mission and he'd slipped up this easily, it could have cost him his life.

'Look it's nothing. Forget it.' He tried to push past Snake, but the man placed his hand on Alex's shoulder firmly, keeping him there.

'That isn't nothing. I've been in enough war zones to know what a fairly recent bullet wound looks like and judging by its position, how close to death you must have been.' Alex shifted uncomfortably under the man's gaze. _Why's he making such a big deal of it?_

'So? I'm alive aren't I?' he responded, immediately on the defensive. Snake sighed and rolled his eyes. 'You're just as bad as Fox, you know that? He got shot recently too and completely under stated it. He had to be forced to stay in hospital and all the while muttering he'd seen worse happen to others. 'Alex smiled slightly at the mention of Fox-_So Ben's a_ _bad patient, eh? _He fully intended to make use of Snake's little rant and escape, but the man seemed to read his mind.

'Not so fast.' He dragged his hands through his hair. 'Look, I don't want to be overbearing and I'm still not going to mollycoddle you.' Alex frowned. As if he needed mollycoddling. 'But I need to be able to do my job as a medic. I assume you've had P.T and you're on some form of medication, yeah?'

Alex nodded. It wasn't a lie. He did have some P.T- however short it was. And he did have medication…that he didn't really take unless he absolutely had to. Still. It wasn't a lie and if Ian had taught him one thing it was not to overcomplicate lies.

'Ok good. If you do have some major issue though, tell me. I don't want to get sued, for letting a child die.'

'Fine,' Alex replied. 'Just…don't tell the others. They already think I'm a burden enough as it is.' Snake looked at him for a moment, the expression in his eyes unreadable.

'Deal. You might want to go get changed. They should be waking up soon.' Alex nodded his thanks and walked out, thankfully missing the sympathetic look Snake shot him.

A further 15 minutes later saw Alex sitting on a table by himself, staring down despondently at his sorry excuse for porridge. _You'd think they'd want to make sure that the people defending this country had proper food to keep them going, _he grumbled mentally. He grabbed his spoon and shoved it in his mouth, winced and against his better judgement swallowed.

He kept his eyes down as he ate so as to avoid all possible eye contact. He was lucky. It seemed that a large number of units were away on various missions and those that were in the mess hall were sat too far away to be able to tell he was only 14.

A tray slammed down in front of him, quickly followed by 2 others and the bodies that belonged with them. Alex looked up to come face to face with a snarling Wolf.

'Showers should last a maximum of 10 minutes. You use up all the hot water again and I will make you pay.' Alex quickly bit down any sarcastic retort and banished all thoughts of using the hot water up again on purpose out of his mind. He wasn't scared of Wolf-not like when he'd first come to Brecon Beacons. But Wolf lacked any true ill-intention that so many of the people he'd met in the past year had. Besides, if he was going to have to stay with these people for an indefinite amount of time, there was no reason to make his life harder than it already was.

'Sure,' he replied and returned his attention to his bowl.

***

'That was a disgrace! You drag the title of an SAS soldier through the dirt and ..it!' The Sergeant barked, spit flying everywhere. 'You call yourselves a unit? That was a despicable example of team work. I have a good mind to bin you! Wolf, what do you have to say for yourself?'

Wolf looked up, a hard look in his eyes. 'Nothing Sir. It was a mistake on my part as unit leader and it will never happen again.'

'Right you are soldier, it won't happen again. The entire unit is under punishment duty-you can clean up the mess hall after dinner. Cub that includes you, so whatever punishment you get from your tutor for being late-' For one golden moment Alex thought he'd say 'you don't have to do…'

'You will complete after your lessons-no excuses.' _I should have known. _'Dismissed,' he barked. Wolf, Snake and Eagle sped off ahead at a jog, talking furiously amongst themselves.

_Today,_ Alex mused, _was not a good day_. _Forget that!Tthat's a euphemism if I ever heard one_, Alex thought. It had been hell. They'd started off with a 10km swim. Alex left his shirt on and got going. It was long and it was tiring, but he was pleased to say he made it-before Eagle even!

After that it had been the killing house. This time Wolf didn't even wait till the end to push Alex. He constantly put Alex in the ways of various traps; trip wires, laser beams, finger print sensitive machinery-it was the last one that Alex couldn't avoid. At that point only Eagle and Snake had made it out the house.

But it didn't end there. They'd spent the evening going over the assault course. It was a disaster. As they were crawling under the ropes Wolf lashed out with his foot, making contact with Alex's head, momentarily disorientating him. Then they came up to a sheer wall where he would have needed someone to either give him a leg-up or pull him up with a rope from the top. Needless to say Wolf had made it so that Alex was the last person to go and had taken the rope away. After a minute or two, Eagle who had mostly just ignored him-took mercy on him and threw the rope back over.

Alex wondered anew at Wolf's intense dislike for him that meant we was even willing to be 'dead' with Alex and get over the assault course in the grand time of 19 minutes and 2 seconds.

Dinner was a silent affair, each too preoccupied with their own stomach-turning food and thoughts. Once the last soldier had left, Wolf handed out jobs. 'Snake you can wash the dishes, Eagle you can dry them and put them in the appropriate cupboards, I'll do the tables and Cub you can scrub the floor.' A wolfish grin broke out across his face. _Surprise, surprise. Obviously he would give me the worst task to do and him the task that would keep him closest to me. _Alex however, didn't display any of his thoughts on his face, simply taking the equipment he would need from Wolf and got started. He wouldn't give Wolf the satisfaction.

Half an hour in, Alex's arms were aching and he was sure that if he ever had to smell the cleaning liquid he was using ever again, he would puke. The skin on his hands was turning red and itchy-he was dying for a shower, hot water or no hot water.

'My my, what has this unit come to without me?' a clearly amused and familiarvoice drawled. It couldn't be, could it?

Alex, along with the rest of K Unit snapped round to face the person in the doorway.

'Fox!' They chorused, shocked.

'What are you doing back here?' Wolf asked confused but with the start of a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

'Oh I'm here to tutor Alex.'

* * *

A:N/ So what d'you think? I hope you liked it. I was unsure about when to bring Fox back and how-all shall be revealed about that soon as will Wolf's problem with Alex.

As always, thanx for reading. Pwetty pwease review? DCC xx


	4. To Be A Friend

A/N: in case you're wondering why I've updated so soon-good question. I'm not quite sure myself. I think it might have something to do with my inability to revise form a text book for more than 10 minutes.

Disclaimer: A.H owns A.R-unfortunately.

Jaws dropped at Fox's little statement. Alex regaining his ability to speak first, asked, 'You're my tutor, Ben? Shouldn't you be off on a mission somewhere? Besides, can you even teach?' A little smile formed on Alex's lips. Truly he didn't care if Ben was a good teacher or not-he was just glad he was here. Ben at least, didn't hate him.

'Aww, didn't you miss me Alex? Of course I can teach-some stuff. I did go Uni. after all- and the heads of SO assured me you're bright, so how hard can it be?' The last statement was meant rhetorically, but Alex wasn't sure. He had a lot to catch up in. _We'll see,_ he thought smiling.

'How do the two of you know each other's names?' Wolf asked confused. Eagle and Snake looked between the two interestedly. Ben opened his mouth to reply, but Alex beat him to it.

'He works for MI6'S SO and all those linked to SO know each other by name.' It was a bad lie but if he had just said 'classified' it would have raised K Units suspicions even more. Fox shot him a questioning look, which he quickly smoothed out. He'd discuss this with Alex later.

'Right,' Wolf said, tone clearly indicating that he wasn't satisfied with the answer.

'I think you'll all be happy to know that I'm rejoining K Unit-at least temporarily.' It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but it worked.

'Hey that's great!' 'Good to have you back Ben!' Eagle and Snake cheered. If anyone would have asked, Alex would have flat out denied the relief he'd felt at finding out that Ben would be more than just a tutor. He wasn't afraid of K Unit but he had already worked with Ben before-and they worked well together. Alex was torn out of his thoughts as the conversation proceeded.

'It's good to be back. I would have gone crazy if I had to spend one more day in that stupid hospital.'

'So how'd you end up here?' Snake asked trying to fight the smile off of his lips-he shouldn't be encouraging Ben's anti-hospital mentality after all.

'Ah, I really have to thank you Alex for that. They needed someone to tutor you and seeing as I already know you and am off duty, they thought-why not send Agent Daniels? Besides, this way I can get some training to keep my fitness levels up too.'

'Don't overdo it though Ben,' Wolf warned. Fox just rolled his eyes. 'So, is my student ready to work?'

'Not quiet yet, he's not,' Wolf growled. 'He's still got the other half of the mess hall to scrub.'

''kay, I'll help you Alex to hurry it up.' Fox made to go get another bucket of soapy water and a mop but Wolf stopped him in his tracks. 'Fox no. Its punishment duty and he has to do his job on his own. Sergeant also said you would have to give him some form of punishment for being late for his lessons too.' He'd twisted the drill Sergeant's words-_**'if**__ he gives you a punishment for being late, no excuses, you have to do it.' _

Wolf's face was twisted in to a cruel, determined expression. Fox frowned his eyes searching Wolf's face. He must have found what he looked for as his own expression changed first in to an understanding, then pained and finally a sympathetic look. Alex observed their silent interactions discretely, pretending to be scrubbing away. Something was up with Wolf. Something that Eagle, Snake and even Fox knew about. Now he just had to work out what…

A further 15 minutes later Alex had finally finished scrubbing the floor. It practically sparkled now. His hands were raw-what he would give for cold clean water to sooth the incessant itch. But Alex being Alex, wouldn't give K Unit-particularly Wolf- the satisfaction of knowing just how irritating his skin felt. Alex sighed. He still wasn't any the wiser about Wolf. _I suppose I could try to get some info of Ben._

'Finally!' Eagle groaned. 'That's it right? Nothing else to do today?' Eagle's voice sounded hopeful even though he knew it was futile. Snake shook his head.

'I wish. Come on we've got to hurry up-the 'Hostage Situation Lecture' is about to start.' A flurry of activity accompanied his words as they hurried to put away their cleaning equipment and then run off to the lecture room-they were in no mood to get a second punishment duty for being late.

Alex moved to wash his hands-ah, that was good. The itching sensation gradually disappeared but unfortunately it did nothing for the smell of cleaning liquids that saturated his clothes.

'How've you been, Alex?' Said boy looked up to face the man leaning on the edge of the sink in front of him.

'I've been…well, I've been better but I've also been worse.' Alex remained purposefully vague; he respected Ben and to a certain degree even liked and trusted him-which was exactly why he didn't want to give a concrete answer. Any concrete answer out of his mouth to that question would be a lie and he felt Ben deserved more than that. Still, he wasn't going to tell the truth only to break down in a hysterical mess any time soon.

Ben grinned wryly, realizing what he was doing. 'Fair enough,' he conceded. 'Wanna head over to our Barracks-I assume you've got your books and stuff, yeah?' Alex nodded. They walked in companionable silence for a few moments, before Alex decided to brooch the subject at hand, slowly.

'How's your shoulder?' Fox shrugged his shoulders. 'It's fine-I don't see what the big problem is. It isn't as if I got hit anywhere vital. Still, extra training always helps and I'd rather be in this hellhole training amongst friends, than stuck in a hospital on my own, bored out of my mind.'

They had reached the barracks by now and Alex headed straight for his bag to retrieve various text and draft books. He smiled slightly, thinking how best to approach the subject. 'I know what you mean. I can't stand hospitals either…You know working with you on that last mission made me realize that working with someone has a lot of benefits-I guess being SAS is good that way right?' Alex moved on to the SAS quickly, not wanting to dwell too much about his mission-it was a means to an end.

'I mean, you have a unit-people you get close to and know really well. So if something's up, you'd know and would try to help them, right?' Ben who had at first looked a bit touched and happy that Alex liked working with him, started chuckling by the end of it.

'Nice try Alex. Man you're a spy through and through aren't you?' Even on his tongue the statement had a bittersweet quality and Alex felt it too.

'Seriously though Alex, Wolf is a good guy. A really good guy. I'm sure he's been a bit of a prick to you recently but-would you believe me if I said it had very little to do with you personally? Well, not quite. It does have to do with you but not because he hates you.' Alex just stared at him with a 'What???' expression on his face.

'Explain?' he asked.

'Let's just say Wolf-as well as the rest of the unit- haven't had a too good time recently. They've had to deal with a lot-'

'With Amur right?' Ben looked at him shocked.

'How…?'

'Never mind. He was the guy that replaced you in K Unit right?' Ben just nodded, still shocked.

'So what about him?'

Ben snapped out of it and shook his head regretfully. 'I wasn't in the unit at the time, so I wouldn't feel right talking about it. But let's just say Wolf is mainly pissed because of that.' Alex nodded his head-he knew he wouldn't get any more information on Amur than that.

'And as far as I'm concerned?'

'Well…let's just say Wolf is a strong believer in 'you have to be cruel to be kind-and that's all you're getting from me.' Alex mauled it over in his head. _What, so Wolf actually secretly likes me? Somehow I really don't think so._

'You ready to learn?' Ben asked Alex grinning. Alex grinned back. 'I guess-let's see how useless of a teacher you are,' he laughed only to have Ben swipe his arm playfully.

Surprisingly enough, Ben had been a rather good teacher. They had in 2 hours managed to work through an entire chapter from the AQA GCSE maths syllabus and had read through half of 'Romeo and Juliet' for Alex's Shakespeare coursework for English. Maths wasn't too hard. Ben had explained the formulas and calculations clearly, so that Alex was able to apply them with ease.

Though he was actually quite fond of and good at English, he did struggle a bit with the Shakespearian language. Ben was very patient and was able to explain any words Alex didn't understand with ease. He'd even let them get up and act scenes out, which made it far more enjoyable than anything his old English teacher did. They'd ended up collapsed on the floor laughing after a particularly bad imitation of Mercutio from Fox.

'You know, the next scene we've got to work on tomorrow Alex, is Juliet's love declaration for Romeo on the Balcony. Get ready to pour out all your passion for Romeo,' Ben teased.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you Ben…I just really don't feel that way about you. I'm so young-I feel violated,' Alex let his bottom lip tremble putting on huge puppy eyes.

Ben glared at him 'Why you little…' and proceeded to tickle Alex mercilessly.

'Do you take it back?' Ben grinned.

'Never!' Alex gasped between laughs. Ben continued to tickle him, Alex letting out sounds that sounded suspiciously like giggles.

'What's going on here?' A furious voice demanded. The giggling immediately subsided. Ben and Alex turned round to look at Wolf who was looming over them, sheepishly.

'I was just giving Alex his punishment for being late to classes.' Ben winked at Alex but sobered up at Wolf's murderous expression.

'Man I'm tired and we've got an early start tomorrow, so let's get to bed.' Eagle got dressed quickly and slipped in to his bunk, followed by Snake. _Cowards,_ thought Alex. God the atmosphere was tense; You could use a blunt knife to cut through it. Wolf shot Ben a demanding look which Ben retaliated. Wolf conceded-slightly.

'Lights out in 5,' he growled. Alex didn't need to be told twice. He put his books away and got changed-making sure to face away from the men. The lights were switched off just as he slipped under his cover. A few minutes of silence passed but Alex felt borderline restless. Minus the gruelling physical excursion and the whole thing with Wolf, it had been a fairly good day. He contemplated briefly on how Romeo wasn't your stereo typical main character-_he's too soft. _

He was drawn out of his sleep fuelled musings by the rush of a whispered discussion. He strained his ears harder, barely daring to breath.

'…acting the way you are towards Cub,' he heard Ben whisper. 'I understand, more than you know-'

'That's the thing Fox-you don't. So leave me to it,' Wolf whispered back harshly.

'I can't,' Ben answered gently. 'For more reasons than you know.' It was quiet after that, the only sound being Eagle's snoring.

_This is ridiculous, Alex thought. I'm either followed my danger or some sort of drama. God, I just want a break. _Unfortunately for Alex, this was just the beginning.

A/N: so what do you think? Sorry for any grammatical mistakes-I read it through but I'm dead tired so I might have missed something.

I can't WAIT to write the next few chaps-all I'm gonna say is that you lot are going to HATE blunt. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this chappie hope you enjoyed it and pleaaaaaase review?

Ta! x


	5. Mind Over Matter

A/N: Can you believe it? I'm FREE. My GCSE'S are over. God I miss high school already. I'm gonna miss uniform-you take it for granted while you have it I swear. I mean I'd rather sleep in than worry about what I have to wear.

Good luck to all those like wolfhuntsmoon who still have exams!

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it?

* * *

Ben's eyes fluttered open to come face to face with darkness. In that moment of mute silence that follows after suddenly awakening, he reflected that something in his environment had caused him to leave his slumber. And that's when the silence was lifted from his ears and he could hear the frantic thrashing and desperate whimpering. Slowly he got out of his bunk and walked towards the source of the sound. He found himself in front of Alex's bunk and by now, his eyes had managed to adjust to the dim light. He sat down on the edge of the boy's mattress, noticing the clammy feel to his skin.

'No…don't…I'm sorry….Jack…Jack…Jack.' Alex whimpered more and more in his sleep and continued repeating Jack's name. He thrashed around violently, hitting Ben's leg but the contact didn't wake him. To Ben's horror, tears started to roll down the sleeping boy's face.

'Alex, wake up. Alex!' Ben gently shook him trying to get the boy to regain consciousness but the attempt was nugatory. The thrashing became more violent and sobs raked the young body. Ben did the only thing he could think of to do - the same thing his mum used to do to him. He pulled Alex up in to a sitting position and held him in a tight, comforting embrace against his chest.

'Sshhh…it's ok. It's ok,' he whispered gently in to Alex's ear, rubbing soothing circles on his back. The thrashing stopped and Alex's body relaxed. The tears and sobs gradually subsided and Alex wrapped his arms around Ben, subconsciously drawn to his steady, comforting presence. After a few moments of just holding the boy, Ben laid him back down, reassured that he would sleep peacefully now. As he tucked him in, Ben gently stroked his hair and couldn't help but think sadly, _'He's just a child. A child in an adult's world, with adult responsibilities. He might be able to act the part when he's awake but the strain of this life is getting to him.'_ As he got in to bed, he realized he was thankful for his time spent in the quiet of the hospital. If it hadn't been for him adjusting to silent nights, he probably would have slept on, the same as the rest of K Unit. _And then I would have never known. But now I can help him. _

MI6 is the type of organisation that strongly believed in reaping as many benefits that they could out of any given situation - Kill two birds with one stone. In this case Ben Daniels was the stone and MI6 were killing not two, but three birds; they arranged a tutor for their teenaged spy that was in their employment. They got one of their better spies whilst not in the field, to stay fit in a convenient place instead of lazing about. They managed to have their agent keep an eye on the teen spy's mental health…for this was important in relation to a fourth bird that they intended to kill. Ben knew something was up and he feared Blunt sending Alex on another mission, but he wasn't sure.

Still, after having been on a mission with Alex he was glad that MI6 were taking the boy's mental health seriously. He would never forget how small and near death he looked, when he had stormed in to the control room and shot Major Yu's assistant.

Yes, Ben did worry about Alex. With only the best intentions, Ben grabbed his mobile and sent a short text to Alan Blunt.

**He's been holding up fairly well, but I'm concerned about vivid, horrific, nightmares he's been getting.**

Having successfully done that, Ben nestled in to his bed, with a lightness about his heart. He had finally found a way to help Alex, who he had to admit, he had grown very fond of.

***

The next morning at breakfast, Alex noticed Ben eyeing him concernedly. When he confronted Ben about it, the only reply he got was a 'oh, nothing.' Suspicious though it seemed, Alex was just glad that it couldn't have had anything to do with his nightmares. For the first time in weeks he'd had a calm night, not having been woken by some gruesome image. _Ben must be trying to gauge my relationship with Wolf and the rest of the unit, _he reasoned.

In respects to Wolf's behaviour, Alex thought, 'so far so good.' But the day had just begun and there was a lot in store for them. First up they had a large medical lecture which all units present at the camp had to attend. K Unit got a few weird looks at their underage member as well as the reappearance of Fox, but luckily a mixture of disciplinary training and the lecture starting on time, prevented the soldiers from actually saying anything.

Alex had to admit it was semi interesting. Most of what was taught was aimed mainly at unit medics like Snake, but other members in the unit were required to have some basic training, in case if a situation arose, where their medic was not at hand.

Today, the lecture focused on identifying first, second and third degree water burns. Those soldiers who weren't medics and didn't have first- hand experience were surprised to find that if the skin is a light pinkish colour or a dark red colour, then it isn't too bad as they are only superficial. If however the skin is white then it's more dangerous as it means that it is a deep burn and has penetrated in to your nerves and will result in lasting damage. Alex couldn't help but reflect on how those injuries - as well as other small things in life – that seemed less serious, could end up being the most deadly.

As soon as the lecture was over, K Unit minus Snake headed straight off to the combat training hall, without greeting any of the soldiers the way they normally would. They didn't need people prying in to their already awkward situation. Snake being a medic, had an extended lecture. Though he would never have admitted it to the rest of the group, he was glad that he could miss at least one combat session. Fighting hand-to-hand had never been one of his strengths.

As they walked over to the Combat Hall, Alex couldn't help but compare the differences between Scorpia's medical training and that of the SAS. Scorpia was far more drastic, with a large 'each man on their own' attitude, with a lot of knowledge of plants for poisons as well as antidotes. With the SAS a lot relied on group work as well as ready on hand medical equipment. Alex was fairly certain that there was more to the SAS's medical training - after all, he'd only been to one lecture. Still, he didn't doubt that the knowledge Scorpia had given him, that he would never forget, was far more in-depth.

K Unit entered the Combat Training Hall. It was a spacious room, with the red mats that covered the floor full of numerous muddy, boot prints. _Fair enough,_ thought Alex. _In a real fight you won't have time to say to your opponent, 'sorry, mind if I take my boots and smelly socks off first?'_

'Right, I've been looking forward to this Cub,' Wolf grinned ominously, already warming up.

'I'm sure you have,' Alex muttered under his breath.

'So how are we going to do this?' Fox asked.

'Well seeing as we're four, we'll split in two pairs,' Wolf ordered, fully in leader mode. Just as Ben made to move towards Alex, Wolf said, 'Eagle team up with Fox. Cub you're with me.' Alex was sure that it wasn't just his imagination when he saw Eagle and Ben exchange warning glances.

'Okaaay,' Ben said, dragging the word out, uncertainly, before he and Eagle moved to the other side of the Hall.

'You ever been in a serious fight before Cub?' Wolf asked, cracking his knuckles.

'No I just generally bribe opponents with chocolate,' Alex replied, rolling his eyes.

'Cocky, are we? We'll see how much you run your mouth after I'm done with you.' Quick as lightening, Wolf let a right hook fly towards Alex with enough force, that if it had connected, would have caused considerable damage. Wolf wasn't holding back or if he was, not a lot. Wolf withdrew his fist and he and Alex had their arms up ready, slowly circling each other.

'You're fast Cub I'll give you that. But you ain't gonna beat me on the defensive.' He struck again, this time with a back kick. Alex grabbed his foot and twisted round so that Wolf lost his balance and fell on his chin.

'Don't you think you're a bit old to still be an SAS soldier Wolf, with your slow reactions and all?' Alex grinned, knowing he would grate on the man's nerves and ego.

'Why you little…' Wolf muttered before flipping back up and lashing out viciously, forcing Alex on the defensive again; he didn't manage to block all of Wolf's hits and he winced as some made contact.

When Alex had first come to Brecon Beacons, he had barely been able to stand his own. But experience changes you. His adrenaline kicked in and he felt his senses heighten; he was aware of every detail in the room-the squishing of the mats beneath them, the smell of sweat that pervaded the room, the sound of his racing heartbeat and the feel of the air parting as each new blow made its way towards him.

It must have come as a shock to Wolf, when Alex suddenly switched to offensive and lashed out with as much vigour as Wolf. They were evenly matched. Wolf had the advantage of height, strength and weight but Alex was faster, had more skill and was far more used to fighting hand-to-hand for his life.

_Soldiers,_ he thought detachedly, _rely too much on weapons, _and proceeded to block Wolf's left fist and kneed him in his kidney. Wolf reeled back slightly, before anger fuelled, made to attack Alex again. By this stage, both Fox and Eagle had stopped their own training and went to observe the fighting pair. Their eyes moved to and fro as though they were watching a tennis match, when finally, Alex and Wolf managed to find a gap in the other's defence and went for it simultaneously – Alex dealing a knife-hand blow to Wolf's neck and Wolf landing a forceful hit to Alex's chest…right above his heart.

Both collapsed on to the floor panting with exhaustion and pain.

'Right, I think that's enough,' Fox said firmly. He went over to Alex to check him over and Eagle did the same for Wolf.

Wolf now sported a cracked rib and multiple bruises all over his body. Alex's lip was swollen and busted and he too, was black and blue all over, at least from what Fox could see. As it was, Alex wasn't letting him check him over too well.

'Look I'm fine. Just a bit sore,' he snapped, mentally ordering his hands to stay down and not clutch at his chest the way they wanted to. _God, it's taking everything to just stay still,_ he mentally yelled.

Fox looked at him disapprovingly. 'At least let Snake check you over before we head off for the 'Field Strategies' lecture. I'll get him now – '

'Aww, the little Cub can't handle a few bruises? Want to go running off to cry in mummy's lap? You're just a child. You can't handle pain, which is exactly why you don't belong here.' Wolf taunted putting on a mocking tone.

'Wolf that's enough,' Fox said firmly, shooting a glare at his team leader. _He's taking this way too far_, he thought.

Logically, Alex knew that he was in pain. His bullet wound was throbbing. It felt as though he had two heart beats pulsing out of time. Logically, Alex knew that he had given as good as he had got and Wolf would get checked out by Snake too. Logically, he knew that Wolf was just taunting him, to try and break him. Logically, Alex knew that Snake had made him promise to get checked out about his wound if anything happened, for good reason. Alex Rider was generally a very logical person. It was what had saved his hide numerous times. On this occasion though, Alex thought, '_to hell with logic,'_ and replied, 'I'm fine. Unlike you Wolf, I haven't got any cracked ribs. Makes me think whether you should be an SAS soldier, if you're already having problems beating a 14 year old.'

It took both Eagle and Fox to hold back a snarling Wolf.

'If you'll excuse me I need to go for **little** boys,' Alex smirked and walked out, adding insult to the injury. Fox and Eagle took Wolf to the infirmary where he'd have an X-ray and get bandaged up, before going on to the lecture. Meanwhile, Alex rushed to their barracks as quickly as he could without aggravating his chest too much. Once in, he searched his bag quickly for his pain medication, downing the tablet dry. Alex leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down it.

'God I hope this works quick. I've still got a lecture and tuition to get through,' he groaned to himself.

* * *

A:N/So do you like it? wanna know what the fourth bird is? Hehehe-soon. Moving on- I really felt I had to have Alex mourn for Jack somehow-I mean he wouldn't be human if he didn't at least subconsciously mourn for her. I promise Wolf isn't as bad as he seems-you'll see another side to him in the next chap as well as Blunt making an appearance. Oh and don't worry the bullet wound won't be a secret forever. Just thinking about the next chap is making me want to get writing!

Oh the little part on burns is something I remembered (hopefully accurately) helping my dad whose a doctor, do a power point presentation on burns for new trainee doctors…it had 37 slides and the information in the fic is the only thing I can remember-the rest is all 23 letter long, unpronounceable Latin words, so you can see why I didn't use those.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it and pleeaaaaase review?

Ta! x


	6. Twisted Methods

A/n: heeeeeeeeeey! So this is a bit later than I would have liked but on the plus side-it's my longest chapter yet!

I'm going to be fairly busy over the next few weeks what with a birthday party, prom and graduation (not looking forward to in the slightest) but I'll try to update fairly soon.

Enjoy!...I hope.

Disclaimer: I might live in the same city as Anthony Horowitz but the similarities end there.

* * *

Purgatory. That was the only word Alex could think of to describe this hellish experience. After he'd taken his pain killer, he'd waited only 5 minutes for it to start kicking in…which of course it didn't. Especially considering that he had swallowed it dry. But Alex pushed the throbbing pain in his chest to the back of his mind and forced himself to get up and go to the lecture.

Alex didn't take much in from the lecture, as he was too busy trying to keep his facial expression neutral and not scrunching his face up in pain. About half way through, the medication finally kicked it. Tuition with Ben had been alright. They had finished the rest of 'Romeo and Juliet' and had gotten started on German…though for this it seemed like Alex was teaching Ben as it had been a long time since Ben's GCSE's.

'You can't really blame me,' he'd grumbled. 'I mean, the places we got sent out on in the SAS where hardly German speaking countries. And I haven't done any missions in German speaking counties with MI6 yet either.'

'Whiner,' Alex had replied teasingly, only to have Ben mock glare him. After tuition (and before the rest of K Unit came back) Alex had a shower, figuring that no one would be able to walk in on him was busy polishing his boots, so there was no threat had - in a twisted sort of way -been lucky that Wolf had attacked him on that particular day. With only a lecture and tuition, he'd had an afternoon that wasn't physically demanding. He winced at the thought of it having happened on a day where he would have had to have run the assault course.

Alex stripped off his clothes and stood under the soothing stream of cold water. '_Well, it's better than nothing,_' he mused dryly. Alex looked down at his chest and his jaw dropped in shock. The skin over his heart wasn't only disfigured the way it normally was, but it was a bluey black colour…with a slight dry trickle of blood running down his abdomen.

'Shit,' he muttered. He thought quickly; what to do? It could be serious but it could be nothing. _'Does this look like nothing?_' a small part of his brain screamed at him. '_What to do? What to do? Well… I did promise Snake I'd tell him if something was up._ _I've just got to get him alone somehow and make sure he doesn't tell the others.'_ Having decided on a course of action, he finished showering, got dressed and left the bathroom.

Thankfully, K Unit were back. They were caked in mud, hurriedly trying to discard their uniforms so that they could rush to the showers. In the middle of all the havoc, Alex caught Snake's eye and looked at him significantly. Snake looked puzzled for a moment, before slowing down his actions considerably.

'Hurry up Snake, or do you want to be late for dinner?' Eagle asked, one foot already in the bathroom, not really caring about the answer.

'It doesn't really make a difference. Food tastes just as bad no matter how early you get there,' Wolf muttered, following Eagle. Fox followed after them, towel in hand. They were alone. It was a good thing that each unit had four showers, one for each member of a (normal) unit. It made talking to Snake in private that much easier.

'Yes Cub?'

'Umm...You told me to tell you if anything happened with the wound,' Alex started awkwardly. Snake frowned deeply.

'Something happened when you were fighting with Wolf didn't it?' Alex nodded. 'I knew it,' Snake mumbled irritated. 'Lift your shirt up,' he commanded. Alex did so feeling a tad bit embarrassed but also apprehensive. Snake studied the wound intensely, gently touching it. Finally he sighed, clearly relieved.

'It's fine. You had a good surgeon and it's healed well. It's just a bit of bruising thanks to Wolf,' he muttered the last part rather darkly, shaking his head. 'Don't worry about it Cub – it's worse than it looks. But still, try to take it easy and next time we have combat training you can practice with me, Fox or Eagle.

'What happened to not mollycoddling me?' Alex asked, trying to hide his own embarrassment. '_God, I must look like such a cry baby to him,_' he thought, mentally kicking himself. Snake flushed pink, before answering hastily, 'I'm not mollycoddling you. I'm just doing my job as a medic. Any doctor would tell their patient not to go seeking danger on purpose, though in your case that's almost inevitable.' He grabbed his towel heading towards the bathroom.

'Oh, Snake?' Said man, turned around.

'Yeah?'

'Just remember you promised you wouldn't tell the others.' Snake nodded at him frowning, and left the room.

'I don't go seeking danger', Alex muttered to himself bemusedly. 'I just…pursue things that end up as dangerous situations unwillingly… and sometimes willingly '- he grudgingly admitted. He couldn't deny the fact that he hadn't been forced to jump out of Crawley's office's window…he didn't have to make enemies out of the Triads…he didn't have to go look for Scorpia…he didn't have to say yes to ASIS…or the CIA. MI6 were the ones that truly forced him but a lot of the life or death situations that he found himself in could have been avoided, if he had put his foot down, and just said 'no.'

Although Alex hated being a spy, hated being used and abused-a small part of him knew that when Blunt would give him a new mission, he would say yes. Alex wondered at this. It was a very small minority in him that felt that way, but still he wondered why. Perhaps out of defeat and hopelessness? Knowing that he would never truly be free of this double life that he led. Or maybe because he knew deep down, this was the life he was suited for? He had always been curious and would act upon his curiosity, with a slightly reckless streak. Or perhaps it was both?

This was confusing. Alex pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind where they belonged. 'Just take it day by day', he told himself, 'There's more than enough to worry about as it is.' He slipped his medication bottle out of his pocket and back in to his bag. _'Guess I don't need this anymore.'_

The rest of the day passed without incident, Snake and Ben keeping a particularly close eye on him…but discretely of course.

* * *

The next morning as they were getting dressed, the door banged open and in came a disgruntled looking Sergeant. There was a short flurry of movement as K Unit went to stand to attention at their bunks.

'Men, your normal schedule for today has been canceled. You are to undergo a surprise test. You will be tested in three things; Stealth, stamina and finally shooting.' At the last one the Sergeant turned towards Alex, clearly uncomfortable. 'You'll take part in this too Cub. Fox, it goes without saying, you're taking part. After breakfast you're to report to the Killing House for your first test. Your every step will be watched men, so I expect nothing other than the best.' He walked out, shutting the door a bit more forcefully than necessary.

'Surprise Test? Wonder what that's about,' Wolf muttered. Alex's stomach twisted in sailors' knots. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling about this.

They had just completed the first two missions and were on their way to the shooting range for the third and final test. The first had been a more intense version of the normal killing house exercise. Somewhere in the 'house' was a safe full of monopoly money. K Unit had to go find and retrieve that money, without being caught by the various electrical traps as well as another SAS unit, who were acting as guards.

It had been challenging and they had spent a good 15 minutes deciding on a strategy as they looked over the blue prints. Wolf had come up with most of it and he had for once not been a complete arse towards Alex. At first Alex had tried to tell himself that his uneasy feeling was down to fearing Wolf acting up.

'_Why would he? He knows we're being watched.' _But even after Wolf had proved that he would be civil, the uneasy feeling remained. They had managed to complete the first test successfully in 26 minutes. Next was a task to test their stamina. What better way to test that, than to have them run the assault course over and over again, till they were too exhausted to see 2 meters ahead.

Alex had to admit he was proud of himself. He had managed to keep up with K Unit and not slow them down. He had indeed improved his stamina since his last time at the camp – he'd had to, otherwise how would he have been able to make it to the coast of Florida from Skeleton Key?

As a Unit they had managed to overcome the assault course 5 times in just over an hour, which worked out as just over 12 minutes each time. Alex had indeed improved greatly; he could see it in the face of his Unit.

Still, the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach would not disappear. They entered the indoor shooting range after an hour break, to be greeted by the Sergeant.

'You've done well so far. Cub I've been informed that you have been taught to shoot and as I know the least about your abilities, you're to go first. There'll be a round of still targets and then moving. Try to shoot as many as you can.' He exited the room and went in to the back room from which you could observe the shooters, through a glass window.

It was too dark in the back room for K Unit to make out the Sergeant…or the man sitting beside him.

'I don't feel good about this,' the Sergeant muttered, not taking his eyes off of Alex who had just taken a gun and was pointedly ignoring K Unit's questions about where he'd learned to shoot. If he was honest with himself, the Sergeant was interested too, but he had more pressing matters.

'It's necessary. We have to know how the boy will react to the current situation,' a monotonous voice replied. The Sergeant frowned. No, he really didn't like this current situation in the slightest.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of what was going on in the backroom, Alex was desperately trying to empty his mind – of his uneasy feeling and of K Unit's inevitable questions. There were bound to be more of those once he was done. He took a deep breath to steady himself, letting his training with Scorpia fill each of his senses.

Slowly he lifted his arm, eyes closed, barely feeling the weight of the gun in his hands. It was a part of him now. With a relaxed, almost lazy quality to the movement, he fired. Again and again, he fired at the targets rapidly, seemingly, not even aiming. One shot, two, three, four, five. It was over. Alex let his arm drop to his side. He turned his head to the side, to face K Unit who each bore varying expressions of shock. Those expressions were only magnified as the targets were brought forward to reveal a perfect bull's eye…in every single target.

Fox gulped surprised. He'd known Alex was good but this was something else all together. This was…professional.

Wolf opened his mouth, to ask the inevitable, but Alex cut him off before he'd even gotten a syllable out.

'Classified,' he said firmly and turned back to the targets. Wolf however, felt that the answer was far from satisfactory and made to step towards Alex, but Fox stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder and a sad, resigned, shake of his head. Was Fox curious? Of course he was. Just as much as they all were. But he wasn't stupid. He knew Alex wouldn't tell them and he didn't want to pressurize the boy.

The Sergeant walked in to the room, clearly impressed, but a slight crease in his brow betrayed his anxiety. _About what?_ Alex thought.

'That was well done Cub. We'll now move you on to moving targets.' The words were spoken hesitantly. Something wasn't right here. The Sergeant walked out and his uneasy feeling just intensified and with it, the dull ache in his chest.

'_Just great'_, Alex thought sarcastically. But he couldn't concentrate on that now. He pushed the slowly growing pain to the back of his mind, along with K Unit and his apprehension, just like the first time.

He lifted his arm just as the targets started moving. One shot, two shots, three –each time he only caught a blur of the white blue and red of the target. Four, Five – wait! Alex dropped his arm and looked at the last target he'd shot. This one wasn't white, blue and red. It wasn't even round.

It was Scorpia training all over again. In front of him was a cardboard cut-out of Ash…and he'd shot it straight through the heart.

'Fuck!' Alex shouted, letting the gun clatter to the floor. There was momentary silence as Alex and K Unit's gaze remained fixed on the cardboard cut-out.

K Unit's brains where wheeling, with the same thoughts; what was going on? This wasn't normal. They had **never **used human cut-outs for training before. Fox squinted at the cardboard figure a little more closely than the others. He couldn't be sure but…that face seemed familiar to him somehow.

Alex was trembling slightly, his hands balled in to fists at his side. His head was downcast, his hair falling over his eyes, so that they were unable to gauge his expression. He stood there as silent as the cardboard figure he had just shot.

Wolf surveyed the boy with a strange mix of regret and triumph on his face.

'Did you know?' Alex's voice came out deathly quiet and controlled. They shook their heads.

'No,' Fox rasped, knowing he wouldn't see them, still facing the ground, as he was. 'We've never had human cut-outs before.' The door opened and in came the Sergeant, looking somewhat ashamed.

'I knew Cub,' he said standing right in front of the boy. 'I'm ashamed to say I had a part in this. But they felt it was necessary,' he finished, clear distaste lacing his words.

'They, Sir?' Snake asked out of turn, though at this point he didn't care. Alex didn't need to ask who 'they' were. _Who else would it be?_

'I did,' a monotonous voice said, standing at the door way. All the heads in the room snapped round to look at the newcomer. 'I did, as head of MI6's SO.' Alex glared at the man in front of him with hate filled eyes. Alan Blunt looked at the boy, but whatever he felt was well concealed.

'Why?' Alex spat. 'I already told you that I'd work for you. I agreed to staying in this God forsaken camp. So what was thepoint, in **that?!**' he demanded, thrusting his hand in the direction of the cut- out, without looking at it.

'We had to test you Alex. This entire 'surprise test' was aimed at you. We have a new mission for you and we had to make sure you were physically, but mainly psychologically ready to – '

'Then you could have made me go to a shrink! Sure I would have refused to go but you could have blackmailed me in to it the way you did everything else!' The spectating Sergeant and K Unit's eyes widened at this little revelation. They said nothing and observed on, too shell-shocked to do anything.

'At least a psychologist's methods would be a bit more orthodox,' Alex continued. 'But no, you always have to do things your own twisted way.' Alex was beside himself with anger. He had managed to stay calm and collected for so long but everyone had a limit and he had finally hit his.

Blunt just let him, appearing completely unfazed by his little outburst. '_And why would he be?_ Alex thought vehemently. '_He owns me and he knows it.'_ The thought brought on a stronger sense of hate than he'd felt before and he grabbed the gun off of the floor and aimed it at Blunt.

K Unit and the Sergeant, looked alarmed, but didn't dare step closer.

'Alex, don't. He's not worth it,' Ben tried to placate him

'Cub don't do anything stupid. Give me the gun boy,' the Sergeant tried.

'Cub! Cub!' But Alex ignored them all, staring at the unflinching man who had ruined his life, ahead of him.

'You wouldn't do it Alex. I know you wouldn't.' He sounded so sure of himself and Alex hated him all the more for it.

'Is that right?' he chucked darkly.

'Yes it is.'

'You know…' Alex said his voice quiet and wavering ever so slightly. 'If Scorpia had told me to kill you instead of Mrs Jones, I would have done it.'

'No you wouldn't,' Blunt replied in the same sure tone. 'See Alex, I know you can't take blood coldly. To save your life or that of others – yes. But that is one of the qualities that makes you a spy, not an assassin. You proved that before with Scorpia.'

God how Alex hated him right now…because he was right. ' He put the safety on the gun, dropped it and walked out making sure to avoid touching Blunt as he passed him – as if he had a contagious disease.

He ran back to K Units barracks, his mind a blur. When he got there he went straight in, slamming the door forcefully behind him. He paced up and down the room agitatedly. He'd always known Blunt was a manipulative bastard but this was taking it too far.

'I mean - he didn't have to – Ash is – urghh!!' he shouted to himself. He couldn't even finish a train of thought…he didn't want to. The truth of the matter was that Ash's betrayal still hurt. Being without a real family for so long was hard. He thought Ash had the link back to that and who knew? Maybe he could have taken Alex in.

'But he turned out to be a murderous, backstabbing traitor!' He threw his pillow on to the floor getting a dull satisfaction from it. Soon he was throwing things left, right and centre. Each movement pained him more and more and his chest was soon pounding with pain. He focused on the pain, letting it consume his being. He didn't want to think anymore. He didn't want to do anything anymore. The pain engulfed his senses and he dropped to the ground in blessed unconsciousness. He was exhausted.

* * *

Meanwhile, silence blanketed the shooting range, each replaying the last few moments in their minds. Scorpia? What did Cub have to do with such an infamous criminal organisation?

'Is that what you had in mind when you asked me to report on how Alex was holding up?' Ben asked in a deathly whisper. Anger was boiling in his blood, but he kept it controlled.

'Not that it is any of your concern, Agent Daniels, but yes.' Ben Daniels got a glimpse in to what it must be like to be Alex Rider; to be used and abused, for some twisted greater purpose. He had in essence betrayed Alex's trust. Had he known that texting Blunt about Alex's nightmares would end up in this, he would have never done it. He felt sick to the core.

'I'm resigning,' he stated firmly, his face twisted in disgust at the man in front of him.

Blunt raised an eyebrow, the most emotion he'd shown all day.

'Not so hasty Agent. There is a reason I've let all of you observe this little spectacle. Alex's next mission involves all of you. '

'Wait, what? You still insist on sending this - this **child **on a mission?' It was the first time Wolf had ever answered out of turn to authority but at that moment in time, it was irrelevant. Everything he had worked so hard for with Cub was going down the drain…

Blunt ignored him and carried on. 'We want him with your help to track down a traitor. The reason I had him shoot at a cardboard figure of that person, was because that person betrayed him as well as his parents. We had to be sure that he would be able to succeed in such a mission. Although, such a test may have been more relevant to you than to him.'

'How so?' Snake asked, confused.

'The person Alex Rider will be investigating with your help, is Andrew Lloyd, also known as Amur.'

* * *

A/N: So what d'you think? Don't be mad about the cliffie! I could have ended it in worse places trust me. I'd love to know what you all thought about this chapter because that shooting range scene where he shoots Ash, is literally what I based this entire fic on. I just saw the image in my head and thought it would be interesting so I started writing.

Please review and tell me what you thought even if you think it was a complete waste of space-I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading! DCC xx


	7. Tigers' Web

A/n: heeeyyy! So I know this is loads later than normal. I'm sorry. I've honestly been very busy and still will be in the next few weeks. I'll try to update more regularly thought as I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks and 1 day (yaaaay!) and I won't have regular internet access…to be honest I won't try that hard to look for it.

Hope you like!

Disclaimer: Even if I had enough money to buy Alex Rider from A.H and he somehow agreed – it would still be his creation.

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Silence vibrated off of every surface in the room.

'Amur?' Wolf laughed with a slight edge. 'You must have something mixed up here. Amur is dead.'

'No he isn't.' Blunt replied simply.

'He is,' Eagle insisted his voice slightly hoarse. 'I saw him die. He went in to the building to get some kid he'd heard crying and minutes later it blew up, with him inside.'

'Are you sure about that, Soldier?' Blunt asked. 'It was a ruse. Think about it – did any of you hear this child cry?' Snake opened his mouth to reply with a 'yes' but shut it quickly when he realized that he hadn't. None of them had. K Unit looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes.

The door opened and in came C Unit for their shooting practice. They paused, momentarily confused at the sight of K Unit and the Sergeant facing a plain, grey man, with slightly hostile eyes.

'I suggest we take this conversation to your barracks men. I assume Alex will be there?'

'Probably,' Eagle murmured. Just as they were making their way outside, the Sergeant's phone rang. He talked in to it for a minute with a low voice then turned to them, clearly disgruntled.

'Something's come up and I need to go to my office. Soldiers, I trust each of you to remain professional.' He turned to each member of K Unit with an intense look in his eyes, before turning to Blunt and saying reluctantly, 'You are now in charge of my men.' He walked out of the room, his back stiff as a board.

K Unit lead the way to their barracks, thinking about the Sergeant's parting words. '_Soldiers, I trust each of you to remain professional.'_ It was a silent warning. They knew that he couldn't stand MI6. He knew that they too, weren't MI6's greatest fans and his parting words were a reminder for them to follow orders, regardless of what they personally felt. His last words to Blunt carried ever so slight a threat in them; If anything were to happen to his men, he would make sure Blunt was held responsible.

The Sergeant was a stern, disciplined man and at times, he seemed intimidating and scarily inhuman. But, despite himself, the Sergeant did get slightly attached to his soldiers. He felt a bit like a teacher and the soldiers were his pupils. They were his responsibility and he did not take kindly to them being mistreated…unless he was the one doing it – for teaching purposes obviously.

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Wolf opened the barrack door and stopped still.

'Shit,' he muttered and hastily went over to crouch next to a collapsed Cub. The rest of K Unit followed him and squatted down, crowding round the unconscious boy. Blunt stood a slight way away, looking down at the unconscious boy with an irritated, yet assessing expression.

'Cub! Wake up!' Snake gently taped the boy's shoulder a few times, only to get a slight groan in response. Wolf ever practical, grabbed his half empty water bottle from his bunk and proceeded to dump it on Alex's face. Alex sat up, eyes wide open, gasping.

'You didn't have to do that Wolf,' Fox muttered, frowning slightly.

'It worked, didn't it?' Wolf muttered back. Eagle let out a small, amused chuckle. Snake ignored all of them, focusing on the boy in front of him, who had just gotten a hold of his bearings.

'What happened?' Snake asked, concerned.

'I dunno. I guess I was just exhausted,' Alex answered, leaning his head against Eagle's bunk behind him.

'This SAS/spy lifestyle is demanding,' Fox said quietly. 'Especially for a child,' he hissed, glaring at Blunt, who didn't even blink in response. Impulsively, Alex's hand pressed down on his chest as the throbbing pain restarted.

'Did you take your meds?' Snake frowned down at him. Alex shook his head no and pointed towards the front compartment of his bag. Snake got up and got them for him muttering, 'Just because I said it was worse than it looked, didn't mean you should stop taking your meds all together.' Alex just gave an embarrassed half smile. K Unit watched Alex in silence as he swallowed the pill.

'What's it for?' Fox asked Alex quietly, looking Alex directly in the eyes. Alex wanted to look away but couldn't. He wanted so badly to confide in Ben…

'For the pain that my bullet wound causes me,' he replied quietly, looking straight back in to Ben's eyes which widened in shock then turned pained.

'Bullet wound?' he choked out. Alex nodded. Wolf stared a moment at the area where Alex's hand had been clutching down on.

'But that's where I…' he murmured. 'Take it off,' he commanded quietly. Alex raised an eyebrow at him. 'Don't play stupid Cub. Take your shirt off,' Wolf growled. Alex complied slowly, apprehensive of his unit's reaction, but also Blunt's.

' _Let him see, what he let happen at his doorstep',_ he thought bitterly. He threw his white shirt, to the side and there was a sharp intake of breath around him. Surprisingly enough, Blunt looked a tad bit uncomfortable. But only slightly and only for a second.

'Cub…I'm sorry,' Wolf mumbled remorseful, his voice constricted. Alex just shook his head slowly.

'It's ok. You didn't know.' And it was ok. He couldn't condone Wolf's behaviour, but this truly was an accident.

'Alex…how?' Ben asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Alex looked at him and laughed mirthlessly.

'I angered a criminal organization and they decided to get revenge. Same old, same old,' he answered completely blasé. Ben gave him a stern look but it was tinged with sadness.

'You knew Snake, didn't you?' Eagle asked, the tale-tale signs in Snake and Alex's conversation finally sinking in.

'Yeah, I did,' he replied sheepishly. 'I found out by chance, but Cub made me promise not to tell and I figured it was the right thing to do – not betraying his trust. I couldn't know that this would happen.'

'It's ok Snake,' Alex gave a small half smile. 'I'm still glad that you did. It means a lot to know that you're able to keep secrets.' Alex truly was happy. He may not be the man's best friend, but he had proven himself trustworthy, a quality he had found in very few people he knew.

Alan Blunt watched the interactions between the men and his youngest agent like a hawk. Nothing escaped his calculating eyes. _'They seem to get on rather well. This may have potential in the future,' _he mused. _'Alex seemed shocked at the Ash cut-out and a little off; withdrawn and angry. I suppose it's to be expected. Still, his fainting probably had more to do with exhaustion than any psychological problem. Either way, he can't afford to take time out.'_

'Sorry to disturb your little moment, but we have a pressing situation to discuss.' His dry, cold voice certainly did break any sentimentality that may have built up in the room. If asked, K Unit would vehemently deny it was ever there. There was so much they had to discuss and sort out – all of them were dead curious about Alex, however much they tried to hide it. It would wait though.

Abruptly they became serious, the disbelief returning to their faces. Blunt looked around quickly and noticing he had everyone's full attention, he started.

'Andrew Lloyd, the person you knew as Amur is a traitor to this country. It is not known why, or when exactly he crossed over. What we do know however, is that he is in Scorpia's employment and that he holds a grudge against the SAS. 'His eyes flitted over to Alex as he mentioned Scorpia, but they boy gave nothing away. Internally Alex was fuming. _'I really can't get away from them, can I?'_

'A note was sent to HQ yesterday evening, with a cryptic message, stating:

**The web has been spun, in which they lie**

**Where animals come out to play**

**One after the other they will cry**

**Approaching the first day**

**It's too late to stop**

**The Siberian Tiger pouncing on its prey**

'We had already been investigating Lloyd as one of our satellites caught him in Malagosto.' Blunt's eyes pierced in to Alex, as if he were trying to peel his flesh away. Alex ignored his instinct to shiver and stayed still.

'Malagosto?' Snake asked, clearly not catching on.

''It's an island near Venice,' Alex said quietly, his voice hoarse and his gaze fixed firmly on a stain on the wall. 'It's where Scorpia trains their new recruits.' Alex felt Ben's grip on his arm tighten slightly; Could feel the questions burning in his eyes. But thankfully, Ben knew that now was not the time.

The rest of K Unit was still trying to digest the idea that one of their own – someone they had befriended and would die for out in the field…had betrayed them. And evidently held some kind of grudge against them.

'What are our orders?' Wolf asked, voice low and harsh. The news about Amur had hit him deeply. As unit leader he had felt responsible for Amur's death. He had viewed it as a shortcoming on his part that he was unable to save a member of his unit. And now this! To find out that all that guilt was unnecessary – it was a strange feeling. A mix between relief and red hot anger at the betrayal.

'So far we've only been able to work out from the message, that it will be a series of attacks, the first very soon indeed. The web having been spun, suggested bombs or some other trap already set. The 'where animals come out to play' suggested either a jungle, zoo or some place you've been on in a mission that had many animals. It could also be-'

'**BOOM!' **A large explosion cut the rest of Blunt's sentence off. '…the camp itself,' he finished.

They rushed out of their barracks and made their way towards the exploding flames. They ran as fast as their legs would carry them, Blunt lagging behind. They stopped suddenly in front of a small building. A building that had flames licking every inch of it. The Sergeant's office.

'No,' Eagle muttered next to him. Their immobile states lasted all of two seconds before they joined the other Units that had come and tried to put out the flames; they stamped out flames, got buckets of water and fire extinguishers.

As soon as it was clear enough. Eagle and a soldier named Lion, covered themselves in two wet blankets and ran in to the building. They came out three excruciating minutes later dragging a limp figure between them.

'He was in the fridge,' Eagle panted as they lay the Sergeant on the ground on his back. Wolf hissed and Alex tried desperately to keep the contents of his stomach down. Varying looks of horror were frozen on all the men's faces.

It was one of those macabre sights – you wanted to look away but couldn't. The Sergeant lay there, his expression twisted in to one of pain, a bleeding hole right between his eyes. But that wasn't the worst. His top had been ripped open and cut in to his chest, the blood still glistening was a blood curdling message:

**The web has been shaken**

**Which part of it is next?**

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A/N: Hate it? Love it? It's really gory, I know. I honestly didn't intend on killing the sergeant until this chapter. And then killing him so gruesomely didn't come till as I was writing it. I think I've been watching too many crime shows…

I'd love it if you'd review, so I know if I should rewrite this chapter in to something less gruesome or if I should carry on. I'm not planning on killing anymore people! …I don't think. But there'll definitely be more alex and k unit interactions.

Thanx for reading! xxx


	8. Trapped

A/N: Hey!! I'm really sorry this chap is so short! But I'll try to update again sometime this week.

Disclaimer: No, Alex Rider doesn't belong to me. If he did there would be no Sabina Pleasure 

It was no surprise that an excited panic spread across the SAS camp. On Wolf's orders, each of the units gathered, would send one member of their unit to alert the other units and more importantly, the Commanding Officers at the camp. Why hadn't they come yet anyways? They would all gather in the mess hall, awaiting the Commanding Officers for orders on what to do in their sordid situation. It was protocol for them to gather in the mess hall for emergencies, as it was the only place large enough, to hold everyone.

Presently, this is where K Unit and another 5 units were located. All of the units at the camp were now gathered. But where were the Commanding Officers?

'Wolf!' K Unit swivelled round in their seats to face Panda – a member of G Unit.

'Yes?' Wolf asked expectantly.

'We have another situation. All the CO's and Drill Sergeants are barricaded inside The Killing House.'

'What? How did that happen?' Wolf asked, his temper rising.

'Elephant said he heard CO Burns talk hurriedly to a woman on the phone, before mumbling something about _meddling heads of SO._ After that he went straight to The Killing House for some sort of meeting with her.' There was a moment of silence as K Unit put together everything that had happened.

A woman on the phone claiming to be Mrs. Jones…sending him to the killing house…that was now barricaded. It went click in their minds as they figured that 2 + 2 = 4.

Alex whirled around, scanning for 'Blunt'. He had disappeared. Recognition dawned first on Ben's face and a few seconds later K Units. But before any of them had time to react though, a loud metallic noise encased the mess hall…the metal lock down gates were sliding in to place electronically.

'**No! Get out now!!' **Wolf yelled. The soldiers did not have to be told twice. Wolf would have loved to have said that as members of the SAS, they had exitied the building in a quick but organized manner; the way you were supposed to leave a burning building. This however, was not the case. Absolute chaos reigned as people scrambled over tables and chairs to get out of the mess hall.

K Unit being closest to the door got out fairly quickly. The gate was about half way down.

'Where's Cub?' Fox asked, eyes jumping wildly around them. K Unit looked around. Crap! He was still in there! Having been 'just a kid', he had inadvertently managed to become subject to the stampede of soldiers, rushing out from behind him. The gate was ¾ of the way down and Alex was lying on the floor not 15cm away from it.

Noticing him, Eagle shouted, 'Cub come!' With a great effort, Alex rolled out from under it, feeling the gate scrape against his ankle. He lay on his front for a moment, panting in to the moist mud.

'You ok? God, that was close!' he heard Fox exhale heavily next to him. Fox helped him up and Alex proceeded to look around. All of K Unit had made it through, along with what Alex thought were a complete D Unit, G Unit and two soldiers he didn't recognise. That meant that only 16 people out of 26 had made it through.

Alex couldn't help but think about how useful the 'Anti-Zit Cream' Smithers had given him would be right now. Unfortunately he didn't think to bring it. He didn't think he would need it here. He was supposed to be safe here.

He could already hear the banging and shouting of the remaining soldiers on the inside of the steel emergency gate.

'What are we going to do?' Eagle asked angrily. He didn't like feeling helpless, especially when the lives of men he would die for, were at stake. The thudding against the gate suddenly became louder, sounding a lot like thunder. _They must be trying to break the door down with one of the benches,_ Alex thought dismally. He knew it was a useless attempt. Then as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

For a tense 30 seconds silence reigned inside the mess hall…and then the pounding started again, only this time it was louder, more desperate.

'What's going on in there?' Panda shouted banging against the gate from the outside. But his voice was lost among the noise the soldiers on the inside were making. Frustrated at himself for not thinking of this sooner, Wolf grabbed his walkie talkie from his belt and shouted in to it, 'COMPOSE YOURSELVES SOLDIERS!'

His voice resounded around them as all the SAS's walkie talkies cracked to life. It quieted down inside the mess hall.

'Now', he continued no longer shouting but rather growling quietly. K Unit who had known him long enough, noticed the slight hint of panic in his voice. 'Tell me what just happened.' There was a slight babble of noise over the walkie talkie as everyone tried to speak at once. After a second though Leopard, the leader of F unit spoke, seeming to have been elected speaker.

'The White board flashed to life and…a countdown started,' he said, voice hoarse. Wolf swallowed hard before replying in a voice just above a whisper, 'How long?'

'2 hours. Well now it's 1 hr 56 mins and 12 secs. My guess is the situation in 'The Killing House' is the same. You have to stop the bombs and those psycho's. I don't know if they know you're out there. Good luck,' he said solemnly.

Those on the outside looked at each other, wide eyed as the gravity of the situation sunk in. Fifteen soldiers and one child had managed to escape the prison of the mess hall, sitting on a ticking time bomb. But they weren't free. They had to disengage two bombs to save the camp. They didn't even know the location of the bombs. Two unknown people had taken on the identities of Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones and were somewhere in the camp. They may or may not know and pursue those who had escaped the mess hall bomb.

It was a race against time as well as an unknown enemy on home ground.

A/n: So what do you think? I'm ending this story really soon – I'm thinking in either the next chap or the chap after that. If it's that soon though, then the chaps will be longer. I just want to finish this before I go off on holiday. Believe it or not I actually got homework-I could cry. But still it's a great 6th Form College (for all non UK ppl College is the two years before Uni) so I guess it's worth it.

Pleaaaase review? It's much appreciated.

As always, thank you for actually wanting to read my next chapter-hope it didn't disappoint!

Ciao!

DCC xxx


	9. Time

**Hey!**

**Can I just apologize in advance for the lack in accurate technical terminology and methods? Anyone who knows me could tell you that I am technically challenged – it took me 4 days to figure out how to upload a second chapter on to a fic so I guess you can see what I mean. Also as far as the bomb goes – I made that part up. I have no idea about making or dismantling or types of bombs…like most people I hope.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Alex Rider doesn't belong to me**

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_**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.**_

The seconds were slipping by. They didn't have time to waste. Composing his jumbled thoughts Fox said, 'We have to hurry and we have to split up in to three groups. Eagle and Zebra as far as I remember the two of you excelled at the Dismantling Bombs lectures, right?' The two men in question nodded seriously.

'Okay, there are 15 of us. Eagle stay here with Snake, Panda and Lemur. Try to find the bomb and dismantle it. Zebra take your unit to The Killing House and do the same there. The rest of us will go to the Arms room and try to get us some weapons. We have to move quickly and remain undetected. If any of you comes upon the enemy, alert us immediately over the walkie talkies. Is that understood?'

Everyone gave quick nods of agreement and ran off to complete their tasks. The Arms room was on the other side of the camp, near the lake. Though the camp didn't have CCTV camera's they tried to stick to the shadows as much as possible – after all, if the enemy could install bombs undetected, something as minor as CCTV cameras would be a child's game.

It shocked and disturbed the SAS soldiers (though they would never admit it out loud) just how good Alex was at moving quickly between the shadows, virtually undetected. And though they were impressed, they just assumed it had to do with MI6. Ben knew better. He himself was good at stealth; as a spy he had to be. But it still shocked him how good Alex was. The way he moved in and out of sight, almost like a ghost…it reminded him of an assassin on one of his missions. He pushed the bothersome thoughts to the side; they had more pressing matters – such as staying alive.

They got to the Arms room and so far so good! No one seemed to be hot on their heels. They had a different dilemma though.

'Shit, I forgot about the finger print sensitive lock!' Fox could have kicked himself in the head.

'How are we going to get in?' Wolf growled in exasperation.

'Are the Sergeant's finger prints saved in to the system?' Alex asked, an idea forming in his mind.

'Yes wh- but of course,' Fox asked temporarily relieved. Then the tension was back in his eyes. 'But be quick. We're running out of time.' Alex turned and ran, merging effortlessly in to the shadows, as if he was never there. Fox just about managed to hold in the 'Be careful!' that wanted to tag it's self at the teen spy's back.

Alex ran as quickly as he dared back to his bunk and grabbed a flimsy plastic bag that they used to store rations for survival training. Sticking to the shadows as often as he could, he ran to where the Sergeant's body – or should he say corpse? – lay. Plastic bag securely on his finger, he rubbed it over the Sergeant's own cold and motionless finger, careful not to look in to the depthless, dead eyes. That accomplished, he ran back to the Arms room.

It had only taken Alex 15 minutes, but 15 minutes was a long time when you were up against two bombs. '1 hour and 31 minutes left' he murmured, looking down at his watch. The soldiers were relieved to see him back but couldn't help muttering things along the lines of _'took you long enough.'_

**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.**

Alex stood in front of the door and pressed his plastic covered finger against the scanner. A collective intake of breath and – yes! The scanner beeped and they heard the door unlock. Alex opened it and the men rushed in, already discussing which weapons they thought would be the most useful. There was so much to choose from in the room.

'_Thank God the SAS camp still used fingerprint scanners,'_ he thought relieved. _'If they'd_ _used eye scanners...' _he shuddered at the thought. He knew he would have had to cut the Sergeant's eye out and that was one thing he wasn't sure he would have been able to have done.

**1 hour and 28 minutes left…**

**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.**

Alex turned to face the soldiers, who had finally decided to go for small hand held guns, as they would be lighter to carry and would enable them to react more quickly. They strapped three or four each on to their belts and pockets – wherever they could find space. Alex followed suit then picked up a Swiss Army knife, deliberating for a moment, before safely securing it with a leather band round his calf. Fox watched him do this silently, Alex unable to read the expression on his face.

'Who do you think is after us?' Wolf asked, following Alex's example with the knife, but deciding that one wasn't enough, strapped two to his legs.

'Scorpia,' Alex answered immediately. Crocodile was a member of G Unit and having been filled in by K Unit on the story the fake Blunt gave them, he sneered at Alex.

'Scorpia? Don't be stupid kid. What motive would they have? Anyways, what would you know about Scorpia?'

'_More than you that's for sure,'_ Alex felt like saying, but he bit his tongue and shook his head instead.

'No. It was them. They proved that it was them. They had some knowledge that only Scorpia has,' Alex nodded to himself, thinking back to the shooting range. 'On the one hand it makes sense but on the other it doesn't. I mean they wouldn't risk -' Alex had actually thought the last sentence out loud, but broke off when he realized just how keen the soldiers looked. He didn't want to give that price.

Wolf cleared his throat uncomfortably before saying, 'Let's assume you're right Cub and it is Scorpia. They can't be right about Amur can they? That was just a ploy.' Wolf spoke the words matter of factly, with not inflection whatsoever, but his eyes remained glued on to the weapons he was still adjusting on his camouflage clothes.

Wolf was a good leader. He didn't like the idea that someone who he had lived with, cracked jokes with, shared bread with and fought alongside, could be a traitor. He would rather believe that an unknown enemy was just abusing Amur's memory. It's so much easier to hate random, unknown enemies. So much less painful to face them, than to face someone that you trusted.

'I'd thought of that,' Alex answered, voice serious. 'But the more I think about it the more I doubt it.' Wolf felt his heart sink at those words, but none of that showed on his face when he asked, 'Why?'

'Because. Just look at the facts; we have three bombs in an SAS camp – a place which should be secure. That would need an insider job. Scorpia probably fabricated Andrew Lloyd's identity and snuck one of their agents in under deep cover at the camp. The question is why. What do they have to gain from destroying this camp? They made a deal with MI6 to not try to kill me again and I doubt they'd go back on it but…' he trailed off deep in thought, not noticing the shocked expressions of the soldiers.

'_They made a deal with MI6 to not try to kill me __**again.'**_It was the only thought that ran through their heads, repeating itself over and over.

'But it can't be me. Amur was here way before me. He couldn't have known I would come here. Maybe Scorpia's in the employment of a foreign country to try to destroy or destabilize the British Armed forces. It wouldn't be the first time.' It was a plausible reason and once the soldiers had gotten (somewhat) over the shock that a teenager would know so much, they nodded in agreement.

Alex wasn't satisfied though. Something was nagging at the edge of his conscience. This wasn't it. He knew what it was, but he couldn't place it. It had something to do with the shooting range, but what?

**1 hour and 18 minutes left…**

**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.**

'Is everyone ready?' Fox asked looking round.

'Yup, we're fifteen so we've got about enough for three per person.' Crocodile replied.

'Okay good. We're splitting up. Half of us are going back to the mess hall to help Eagle and his group and the other half is' – Fox was disrupted by their walkie talkies cracking to life. Zebra's voice sounded from it, tense, frustrated and slightly desperate.

'We've found the bomb for 'The Killing House.' But… we can't dismantle it here. I've only ever read about this type of bomb, but I've never had to deal with it!' He took a deep, calming breath and continued.

'The only way to stop this thing from going off is if you insert a chip that is unique to it. To activate the bomb all they had to do was swipe the chip through it. I got suspicious why we didn't see anyone – meet any resistance. It makes perfect sense now of course. They're hiding. They're scared we'll pursue them and get it off them.'

Alex looked at the men around him, all of them bearing the same tense posture he had. A lone bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and he felt his heart accelerate as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

**1 hour and 14 minutes left…**

**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock…**

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**A:N/ so what dyu think? I think, I think, I think, that I'll be done completely in the next chap. There'll be lotsa actions, badies revealed and cute bonding moments. It should be up fairly soon but I don't wanna give guarantees as I went to Waterstones 2 day ago…I don't know about you lot but for me, bookstores are worse than any sweet shop and I end up buying loads. So yeah I'm trying to read my way through those books. **

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review – I love to know what you think. It really helps spur me on.**

**DCC xxx**


	10. Resolution

**A/N: OMG I've FINALLY finished writing this! I know it's kinda late, but I had a bit of writer's block and took time for me to get over it. But, now it's done.**

**I hope you like it! –I apologize in advance for any weird inaccurate technical terms – I prefer writing to typing.**

**Disclaimer: Nope he don't belong to me.**

**1 hour and 14 minutes left…**

**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock…**

'What do we do now?' Fox growled, his fists balling at his sides in frustration. Wolf thought for a moment before raising his hand to shush the murmuring soldiers beside him. He turned his hand held radio on and spoke in to it, voice low and tense. 'Eagle can you hear me? Zebra, can you hear me?'

After two yeses he carried on hurriedly, painfully aware of the time slipping by. 'We're all going to split in to 5 groups of 3 and search thoroughly through each section of the camp. Be ready to alert the rest of us if you find them, that understood?'

A scatter of nods, group and section sorting later, Alex found himself running towards the forest with Fox and Wolf. They ran nimbly through the forest, trying to be as quiet and thorough as possible, making sure to not only check the ground, but up in the trees too.

'Do you think there's any way they could have escaped the Camp?' Fox asked, squinting up a tree.

'No,' Wolf and Alex answered simultaneously, but for different reasons. Fox turned towards them and raised his right eye brow slightly, as a sign for them to elaborate.

'You forget Fox that Eagle activated the emergency lock down gates around the Camp,' Wolf explained, peeking from behind a tree trunk. 'The only way out of here would be by air and what with the camp so quiet, we would hear that.'

Fox nodded in agreement and from the corner of his eye saw Alex shake his head gently.

'Alex?' he asked.

'Even if the camp hadn't been locked down, I doubt they would leave,' he replied quietly moving lithely throughout the forest.

'How come?' Wolf asked, his dark brows knitting together. It took another minute of silent searching before Alex answered.

'Scorpia…well, they'd want to make sure it was done properly. They can't afford to make mistakes. There can be no glitch to their plans – everything has to go immaculately. They will wait till the end to make sure their mission is accomplished properly.' Alex couldn't hide the bitterness that clouded his tone. He could see Ash in his minds' eye, pressing the trigger that would condemn him to becoming an orphan.

Fox carried on scanning the area, but his words, hesitant yet burning with curiosity, were aimed at Alex. 'You know…you never did tell us how you know so much about Scorpia?' His words were followed by a deafening silence and if possible, Alex strained to look even more thoroughly at the ground, trying to find trails that weren't there.

Wolf, a practical soldier decided it was time to change tactics. 'You said before that Scorpia had made a deal with MI6, to not try to kill you again…so were they the ones who gave you that bullet wound?'

Alex stubbornly continued to search for trails in the ground.

'Come on Cub.' Wolf all but growled, luckily remembering to keep his voice low. Alex whipped round to face him, eyes like ice.

'What does it matter?' he hissed viciously between his clenched teeth.

'It matters because if they did, it'll give me all the more motivation to hunt those bastards down and kill them,' Wolf answered, eyes blazing. 'It matters, because you should never have been put in to such a life threatening situation in the first place. And it matters…' his voice and expression lost their anger and turned remorseful. 'Because it would mean I made your life even harder for no reason. You have to understand,' he said turning desperate, 'I didn't act like a complete arsehole, simply because I felt like it. I thought that maybe, if I could make you really hate it here, you would leave. Go back to a normal life.'

Fox's words echoed in Alex's head. _'Let's just say Wolf is a strong believer in 'you have to be cruel to be kind.' _ He could feel his throat tightening. He'd never thought that statement could be so true.

'It's a bit too late for a normal life for me. Yes. Scorpia hired a sniper to kill me. The bullet just missed my heart.' Alex's eyes stung. He refused to cry, but he couldn't deny the stinging sensation. Wolf and Fox's faces hardened momentarily.

'Why?' Fox asked, subdued.

'I…had a mission with them,' Alex replied reluctantly.

'Thank you for telling us,' Wolf whispered, when it was clear Alex wouldn't elaborate. They continued to forage through the forest, making as little noise as possible. They continued like this for the next 10 minutes.

**49 minutes left…**

'Okay they're obviously not in the woods, so let's move on to the lake.' Wolf spoke in to his hand held radio, alerting the other soldiers of the same thing. They headed over to the lake quietly, their guns still drawn.

Fox suddenly stopped, rooted to the spot.

'What is it? What did you see?' Wolf asked him and Alex looked around furtively.

'No, it's not that,' Fox murmured. Then he looked Alex straight in the eyes. 'That cardboard cut out…I know him don't I?' Alex tried to keep his face neutral but panic set in and he failed miserably. Fox took it as a confirmation.

'The only thing is, I don't know from where. I'm guessing it must have been someone from our mission together, but who?' Alex swallowed hard and avoided Ben's intense gaze.

'We haven't got time for this conversation, we need to keep looking,' he answered, proud that his voice didn't waver at all.

Fox looked like he wanted to press his point but thought better of it. He knew they had a far more pressing issue. As if to validate that fact, their hand held radios cracked to life and Snake's frantic voice sounded from it, his accent all the stronger with his distress.

'They're not in the shooting range and they're not hiding in the obstacle course either. I really don't know where else to look. Is anyone else having any more luck?' There was a chorus of resounding no's.

'Don't give up,' Wolf said firmly. 'We still have a few more places to look and we better hurry up. We have…shit, we have 42 minutes left!' They hurried on, trying to look for every nook and cranny between the rocks, where someone could possible hide.

**37 minutes… **

'This is ridiculous!' Fox exclaimed. 'There's no one here!' Wolf barked the same thing in to his radio, letting the other soldiers know about their unsuccessful search.

'We just checked the barracks – even under the bunks! It's like they've been swallowed off the face of the Earth,' Panda growled.

A light bulb went off in Alex's head. '_Under the beds…'_

'I know where they are,' he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Fox and Wolfs' heads snapped towards him.

'Where? How?' They asked but Alex was already sprinting away from them. They ran after him.

'Tell them to go to the Sergeants Office NOW!' Alex shouted at them, without even looking back. They were right behind him, the difference in their strides having enabled them to catch up to him. Wolf barked the order in to his radio, speeding up as the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

'How are you so sure, Alex?' Fox asked, jumping over a twisted tree root.

'Because it's so obvious - that we wouldn't think to look there. Why – would we look for them in a place – they'd already blown up?' His breathing was starting to get a bit laboured but he ignored it and pushed himself harder.

'It's diabolical,' Wolf gave a wry half smile. 'How'd you come up - with it kid?'

'I hid under the bed of Major Yu,' he answered feeling reckless. He couldn't see the men's shocked faces but could feel them in the back of his neck. He smiled amusedly at himself, pushing himself even harder; the forest was becoming a blur of green and brown.

'It doesn't offer much cover -,' he panted, 'so be ready 'cause as soon as they figure we're there – they'll attack.' Alex touched his hand to a Glock at his hip, reassuring himself of its weight. He could hear one, or both of the men behind him handling their weapons.

They reached the Sergeant's office (or what remained thereof) last. The other twelve soldiers already stood, guns drawn surrounding it. Alex, Fox and Wolf joined the ranks, their eyes purposefully trained on the half blown off door, rather than the mangled corpse of the Sergeant, still lying before it.

'Come out!' Zebra roared. 'We know you're in there! Show yourselves you cowards!'

**30 minutes left…**

A slightly hysterical laugh sounded from the inside and two dark shadows pooled on to the ground in front of the half broken door. The figures of 'Alan Blunt' and 'Tulip Jones' stepped out in to the light.

'Oh put your toys down soldiers', 'Blunt' drawled. 'You wouldn't want to shoot us, for fear of losing the keys. You don't think we're stupid enough to keep them on our person, do you?' He grinned widely displaying flashing white teeth.

'Who are you? And where are those keys?' Snake growled. Another short derisive and oddly masculine laugh, came from 'Mrs Jones.' She ripped at her face, peeling it off, the manic grin never leaving her face. Alex was reminded strongly of his own disguise the night he was sent to kill Mrs Jones.

He suddenly felt very hot and sweat beaded on his forehead. He wiped it away with one hand ignoring the strange, sudden shivers down his spine. 'Blunt' was grinning at him strangely. An audible gasp ripped itself from the throats of the SAS soldiers. Jones' mask had been taken off completely. In its place, stood an olive toned masculine face, with green eyes, a sharp, crooked nose and short, dark hair.

'Amur,' Eagle chocked out.

'So it was true?' Wolf said quietly. His voice sounded like the calm before a storm – Alex could practically feel the rage bubbling beneath the surface. 'You really did betray us? Why?' he spat.

Amur opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by 'Blunt'. 'You can have your little reunion later…or not. It doesn't matter. What does however is you, Alex Rider.' The malicious grin on his face widened if that was possible.

'Do I know you?' Alex asked. His hands started shaking and he balled them in to fists. It was weird though – he didn't really feel scared. So why was he shaking?

'No. We've never met. But I know a lot about you Alex Rider. My name is Zeljan Kurst and as one of the board members of Scorpia, I was the one who told Major Yu not to underestimate you. He didn't take my advice and we all know where he ended up.' _Yeah, 6 feet under._

Alex heard Ben hiss angrily behind him.

'Enough with the time wasting,' Wolf snapped. 'Where. Are. The. Keys?' he asked, splitting the question in to four separate sentences.

'Somewhere nearer than you think,' Amur drawled. And that's when it started. The grounds erupted in a flurry of movement, shouts and gun shots.

Though the two Scorpia members were greatly outnumbered – 15 to 2 – they had the advantage of shelter as well as the soldiers being slightly hesitant to shoot them, in case they had been bluffing about not having the keys with them.

'_Fools,'_ Amur thought, _'we're not really going to keep them on us.' _He shot Panda straight through the heart and ducked back down, behind the 3 foot of wall remaining. He felt a sick pleasure at hearing the man's final scream. He sprang back up again and shot another 3 soldiers.

**25 minutes left…**

The SAS men were panicking. They were being killed off like flies, yet they couldn't afford to retreat. They had so little time left! Alex's mind was racing. '_We needed some sort of shelter or cover to stand a fighting chance. That's it!'_ He ran towards the barracks, away from the battle scene. He suddenly felt light headed and nearly tripped over his own feet. He shook his head to clear it and ran faster.

Zeljan had finally found a gap to shoot Alex. _'Those irritating SAS soldiers keep covering him,_' he thought, glaring at Fox. But even Fox had to move to fight. In that instance, Zeljan got his opening. He raised his hand and pointed the gun at the boy – and lowered it again as the boy turned his back to him and ran away from the area. It wasn't that he had any qualms about shooting a child in the back. Oh no, that didn't bother him at all. He had…_other_ motivations.

'_Where is he going? What is he planning? He's not the type that would run away.' _He thought, watching the boy's retreating back. He couldn't leave the cover of the wall or the SAS men would have him. _'He'll come back,'_ he thought confidently.

Meanwhile Alex ran to where the vehicles were being kept. Thankfully, they weren't that far from the Drill Sergeant's office. The calm (or perhaps already insane?) part of his brain registered the fact that it was probably that way so that the Sergeant who was in charge of lending them to soldiers, could keep a better eye on them, to spot any misconduct. At any rate, it helped him now.

He got to the first car, a large black jeep, and from where he stood a meter away from it, shot the window on the drivers' side multiple times. The shattered glass came cascading down like a crystal river. _Crystal river? _Alex thought, shaking his head again. Something was not right with him. His body shivered again, involuntarily. He ignored it and focused on opening the jeep door. Ian Rider may not have come to every school Christmas play, but he'd made time to teach him how to hot wire a car.

The jeep rumbled to life. Alex got in and hit the pedal. He hit 60 mph before he even turned the corner.

**18 minutes left…**

The soldiers, had by now retreated in to the foliage of the front of the forest that offered them some security, However they were now 15 metres away from the enemy. They twisted their heads round as Alex screeched to the halt right in the middle of their battle field. He got out and ducked behind it, motioning for them to do the same.

Only 7 soldiers joined him. 2 remained in the forest, severely wounded and the other 5 had joined the Sergeant. Eagle and Snake were missing…

'Eagle was shot in the thigh, Snake's looking after him and the others,' Fox grunted, taking his place next to Alex. And hence, the fighting commenced. On the one hand, the SAS soldiers finally had some cover but on the other, the enemy wasn't dying either.

Zeljan was aiming purposefully in Alex's direction. What did he care about the SAS soldiers? Let Banks deal with them – this was his initiation test in to Scorpia anyways. Oh no. All he wanted was Alex Rider. He had to admit, the idea with the jeep was good – it offered cover as well as helped the soldiers recover some lost ground. There! Alex stood up and started lifting his arm, towards Zeljan. Zeljan, mimicked the movement but moved much faster than Alex.

Two shot rang out in the clearing, lost among the many other being shot in the same instance. Alex buckled down to his knees, then fell forward. Zeljan buckled to his knees and fell a look of shock on 'Blunt's' face. He touched his hand to his chest and could feel the hot moisture between his fingers.

'_Is that really my blood?' _he thought astonished, before his eyes rolled in to the back of his head. The SAS soldiers cheered as they noticed Zeljan fall and Amur looked panicked. The SAS soldiers strengthened their attack on Amur.

Ben was the first to notice Alex fall. A wordless howl ripped itself from his throat and he bent over the boy trying to look for a wound or blood – but there was nothing. He'd fallen before the bullet had managed to penetrate through his flesh. He let out a temporary sigh of relief, then nearly choked on the same breath when he realized the teen was shaking violently, his clammy skin an unhealthy pasty white.

'Yes!' he heard Wolf yell beside him, before he and the other soldiers ran forward. Wolf had managed to shoot Amur in the stomach.

**15 minutes left…**

'Where are the keys you backstabbing son of a bitch?' Wolf spat, shaking Amur's shoulders. But Amur just shook his head. Wolf growled. 'Now you listen here, Scorpia aren't going to come save your worthless hide. You failed. Now if you don't tell me where the keys are **now, I will **prolong your death and torture you so bad, you'll be wishing for hell.'

It was a bluff. Wolf didn't believe in torture and as an ex-member of K Unit Amur knew that. But Wolf looked scary and being at the brink of death frightened Amur.

'The boy,' he rasped.

'What?' Wolf asked.

'The boy's neck,' he rasped again, coughing up blood. He was a goner. The SAS men turned to Alex who was cradled in Fox's arms, with Snake bending over him concernedly. Fox who had been stroking Alex's back soothingly, felt a hard metallic bump at the back of Alex's neck. He pulled the boy's collar down, to reveal two small metallic squares, with some sort of chip on their faces.

It was stuck in the boy's skin. Suddenly Alex's shivers and clammy skin made sense.

'They poisoned the keys,' Fox choked out. Memories flashed through his mind; Them with 'Blunt' in the shooting range. Them with 'Blunt' in the mess hall. He had so many opportunities to place them in the back of Alex's neck.

**12 minutes left…**

'We have to move!' Zebra exclaimed. Snake nodded and took out one of the keys from Alex's back; a long needle came out of Alex's skin – and that's when the blood started rushing out.

'Shit!' Snake gasped and stripped his shirt off, holding it to the small puncture hole, trying to stem the bleeding.

'Zebra take the key and run to the Mess hall bomb. It's closer.' Snake said and handed him the key carefully, not wanting to poison him too. Zebra ran as fast as he could. He just had to get there in time. Fresh hot blood continued to soak through Snake's shirt.

'We can't take the other one out,' Fox growled helplessly and for a moment. As irrational as it may be, he was more concerned with saving Alex's life than of the CO's. _There has to be some way to do both._

'Wolf help me carry Alex in to the jeep, then drive us as quick as you can to The Killing House.' Wolf complied not having to think it through. He wasn't sure what Fox was planning but he trusted him. Elephant held the backdoor of the jeep open for them.

'Snake, look after Eagle and the others and try to look for some kinda medicine or antidote for Alex!' Fox shouted as Wolf sped off.

Lemur and Crocodile were also Unit medics.

'We'll look after the injured, Snake look for something to help Cub,' they offered. Snake nodded gratefully and ran off to find all his medical books and supplies. _Where to start?_

Meanwhile in the jeep, Alex was getting worse. He was shivering and muttering mainly to himself, his eyes focusing and unfocusing on his surroundings. Wold was gripping the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles were turning bone white.

'Hang in there Alex,' he muttered, his voice too desperate to be reassuring. He stroked the boy's hair out of his face, which had been plastered down on his forehead from all the sweating.

'What are you planning?' Wolf asked, his voice deceptively calm. He had to try to keep his head clear.

'I'll carry Alex to the bomb and only then will I take it out and put it in place. I'll try to stem the bleeding as much as possible and pray Snake's found something.' Fox nodded to himself, trying to convince himself that the situation wasn't so dire and that really, there was a lot of hope.

Their hand held radios crackled to life. 'I got it!' Zebra's voice rang out. 'The first bomb's been diffused!' Some of the weight the soldiers had been carrying on their shoulders lifted; but not entirely. There were still so many lives at risk.

The hand held radios crackled to life again and Zebra's voice rang out once more. 'The bomb is in the basement of the Killing House, take the left entrance to it, it's quicker.' Wolf gave a short thanks. They were nearly there.

Alex started muttering more loudly.

'I don't wanna…leave me…'

'Shhhh,' Ben tried to soother him. 'It's okay. We got those Scorpia bastards.'

'Scorpia…' Alex mumbled. 'Ash…my godfather…traitor…with Scorpia…Dragon 9…Ben shot him…don't tell Ben…' Alex wasn't quite with it, completely unaware of what he'd just confessed. Unaware of how Ben Daniels' arms around him froze, like an ice statue. _That's who the cardboard cut – out was of. That's why I recognized him. I shot his Godfather._

'Ben we're here,' Wolf said.

**5 minutes left…**

Ben shook himself out of his revere and carried Alex out the car. Snake's shirt could no longer absorb the blood. Ben's fingers were coated in it and as they made their way to the left entrance of the basement, they left a blood trail behind them. They went down the narrow, dark steps – the door having already been forced open by Zebra and his group when they were searching for it.

'There it is!' Wolf exclaimed and ran to it. Fox followed behind him more hesitantly.

**4 minutes left…**

'Fox what are you waiting for? Take the key out!' Wolf growled.

'I can't,' Fox's voice was just above a whisper. 'He's losing so much blood…I…'

Fox's face was twisted in to such a pained expressions and Wolf knew that his mirrored it. 'I know it's hard Ben, 'he said gently. 'But we have to save the others too. You know that.' And logically, Fox did know that. He sighed. Wolf was right.

He pulled Alex's shirt collar down and gently extracted the needle from the nape of his neck.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered.

**3 minutes left…**

He placed the key face down in to the square shaped indention in the bomb. He was normally quite interested in technical and chemical things. Normally he would find the electrical reactions from the key, that set the chemical reactions in the bomb in to motion fascinating. Now, it just left him cold. The countdown stopped at 2: 46.

It was too soon to be relieved. The blood gushed from Alex's neck more profusely. Fox lifted the boy up again, cradling his head against his shoulder.

'I'll go check the CO's. Fox, take the jeep and get Alex to Snake,' Fox nodded and strapped Alex in to the front seat. Fox drove one handed and wiped the sweat from Alex's forehead with the other.

'Snake we diffused the bomb. Wolf's freeing the CO's. Where are you? Have you got an antidote or something?' He stroked Alex's hair unconsciously.

'Thank God, that you stopped the bomb!' Snake was clearly relieved. But the relief didn't last. 'I'm in the Infirmary. But without knowing what poison that was and not enough time to find out all I can do is treat the symptoms and –if we can get MI6 to tell us his blood type, do a blood transfusion. But that's all I can do! Zebra's readying a helicopter to get him to St. Dominic's. I just hope…' he broke off. He didn't want to finish his sentence._ It's not too late._

Fox sped up. They couldn't lose Alex. They just couldn't. They should have paid better attention. How could he live with himself knowing he'd killed the boy's only family and then also indirectly be the cause of the boy's death? He parked the car haphazardly, got out, picked the still bleeding, still unconscious boy up and ran with him in to the infirmary.

Snake ushered him in and he lay Alex as gently as possible on the mattress on his front.

'Hold in there Alex. Please,' Fox whispered.

***

'Hey Eagle, shut up! I think he's waking up!' Alex's eyes flickered open in time to see Wolf whack Eagle on the back of his head.

'Hey,' Alex croaked, voice hoarse from disuse.

'Hey,' Ben replied gently, squeezing Alex's hand gently.

'So you've finally regained consciousness Agent Rider,' a skin crawlingly familiar voice said from the foot of his bed. Alex looked up and his eyes widened to see Blunt's cold, plain face.

'Relax Alex, this is the real Alan Blunt,' Snake said gently from his side.

'I know,' Alex said disgruntled. 'That isn't really much better.' A light chuckle ran through the assembled men. Except Blunt himself of course. His face remained stubbornly impassive.

'Where am I?' Alex asked looking round sniffing. The place smelt familiar but he couldn't place it.

'St. Dom's,' Eagle replied promptly. Ah. That explained the smell. Hospital.

'I'm sure you're groggy about what happened,' Blunt said. Alex nodded slightly.

'We've got time for that later,' Fox said firmly. 'When you're properly recovered,' he promised Alex, seeing the demanding look on his face. Alex sighed in resignation. Blunt cleared his throat.

'Ahem. Very well. After the incident at the camp, we've decided to reinforce security within and around the camp. Though it is true that we already had our doubts about Andrew Lloyd. We had been looking in to him for a while now, because of various criminal activities where he seemed to be around, but never actually involved. At least as far as we could see..' There was a shocked silence.

'Then why didn't you come to our aid sooner,' Fox said from between his teeth. It really wouldn't help if he started swearing at his boss.

'We were confident that two of our top agents and a group of SAS soldiers would have been enough to sort this problem out.' The SAS soldiers fumed in silence. Ben and Alex looked defeated though. It wasn't as if they didn't know their boss was a cold, heartless man.

'Moving on,' Blunt drawled. 'It is my understanding that you worked well together to complete this (unofficial) mission. Therefore Alex, for future missions where you need a family cover for example, you will go with various members of K Unit or Agent Daniels. However, it's quite likely that you'll still be going on missions on your own.'

'Not now though he won't,' Snake said fiercely. 'He still needs to recover and get some down time.'

'Of course,' Blunt replied, still no intonation to anything he said. 'We have no use of an Agent who is unable to do his missions, because of physical restrictions. Like Ash.' And he turned and strode from the room. The heads of MI6 weren't exactly known for using greetings or for that matter, sensitivity.

Blunt left behind him three pained faces and two confused ones.

'Who's Ash?' Eagle asked bewildered.

'No one,' Alex replied too quickly. Fox's eyes flashed, clearly pained.

'He wasn't no one Alex. He was…your Godfather. And I killed him. I don't know how to begin to say sorry – I didn't – I mean –'

'How do you know about Ash?' Alex whispered, ignoring the hanging jaws of the rest of K Unit, in reaction to the words, 'I killed him.'

'You spoke about him, when you were half delirious,' Ben replied just as quietly. Alex took a deep breath.

'Don't feel guilty Ben. Seriously, it's not worth it. Ash was a Double Agent who betrayed my dad and later me, to Scorpia. So don't feel guilty.' He looked Ben straight in the eyes and held his gaze, until Ben nodded, obviously slightly more at ease.

'Betrayed you and your dad to Scorpia? What is it with you kid and criminal organizations?' Eagle asked, a slight hint of a laugh in his voice. He didn't really expect a proper answer – not yet anyway. Alex understanding what Eagle was doing smiled slightly and said, 'I don't know. I seem to attract weird, psycho's. Explains why I'm surrounded by you lot.'

'Ha. Ha. Ha,' Wolf rolled his eyes.

'And you'll be stuck with us for a long time yet,' Ben said smiling down at Alex. 'Think you can bare that?' Alex grinned..Looking round at the faces of the men around him, he felt like he truly belonged. A feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time.

'Yeah. I guess I can bare it.'

A/n: THAT'S IT! I'VE FINALLY FINISHED THIS STORY! I hope it lived up to people's expectations. The waking up scene is a bit similar to 'To make Good On A Promise.' I'm sorry. When I realied I tried to change it more. That was totally unintentional but I'm too tired to write out the events as they happened.

I'm not doing a sequel and I don't think I'm going to write anymore Alex Rider fanfic – at least not anytime soon. I might do other fanfic but all after the summer hols. As it is I'm flying to Egypt in less than a week (yaaaaay!)

Thank you so much for reading Demasked all the way to the end. I'm glad people liked it enough to read it. If you could, for the very last time, review, it would mean a lot.

Bye! DCC xxx


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